Crystal Palace must do all they can to extend Christian Benteke’s stay

At the start of the season when the Crystal Palace hierarchy sat down to assess the contract situation which hung ominously over the club, the consensus on Christian Benteke’s future was that his time at Selhurst Park would undoubtedly come to an end.

Fast-forward 36 games and nine goals later, Benteke has rediscovered a formidable scoring touch, his dominating aerial ability and his clever link-up play. He has, once again, become indispensable to Crystal Palace.

Since the Belgian international plundered the winner at the Amex in the Eagles’ 2-1 win at Brighton in late February, Benteke’s confidence has flourished – he is reborn. His performance in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa yesterday highlighted how integral his transformation is to the side.

After Villa opened the scoring through John McGinn, who stroked a sensational strike from the edge of the box out of Jack Butland’s reach, Benteke brought Palace back into the game.

Perhaps the Benteke of last season would have lacked the intelligent movement needed or the assertiveness to trust his innate ability when this opportunity had been presented to him in the past. But the reinvigorated frontman duly nodded home his ninth of the season.

Tyrick Mitchell collected the loose ball on the edge of the Villa box and whipped in a tantalising cross to the back post. Benteke peeled away from Kourtney Hause and used the mobility he has regained to plant a header into the bottom corner, out of Emiliano Martinez’s reach.

Although Anwar El Ghazi brought Dean Smith’s side level just two minutes after the Eagles equaliser, the home side found their attacking flair in the second half – producing the kind of intent that the fanbase have been yearning for all season. Benteke was monumental in the fightback.

He was agonisingly denied a second of the match when a combination of Martinez and the crossbar somehow clawed his effort off the goal-line.

Wilfried Zaha levelled the encounter when his effort ricocheted off Ahmed Elmohamady and into the back of the net. The comeback was complete when Mitchell scored his first goal for the club in the 84th minute, turning home a sliced Eze shot with his chest.

Palace had a total of 23 attempts at the Aston Villa goal on Sunday afternoon, with the commanding influence of Benteke helping breathe new life into their attacking intelligence.

But what has changed for Benteke? The forward is playing with freedom, intensity and assertiveness, which has long been missing – he has returned to his very best and is repeatedly striking fear into opposition defences.

When Benteke first arrived at Selhurst Park under Alan Pardew, his fearsome first league campaign – where he scored 15 Premier League goals – signalled the arrival of a consistent top-flight forward.

However, when Roy Hodgson took over from Frank De Boer, Benteke’s confidence vanished, his imposing figure diminished, and his eye for a goal became blurry – something was holding him back.

The phrase, ‘cross the ball and he will score’ was dished out as a defence for Benteke’s drought in front of goal, but it was simply too easy to claim that it was the only reason why he looked lost, confused and perplexed when presented with an opportunity to score.

But as Benteke has shaken off the consistent injury problems, and perhaps is playing without the weight of the £27million price tag on his shoulders, he has returned to the  form which saw him lauded as one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League.

The arrival of Jean-Philippe Mateta also appears to have revived a fiery determination in Benteke. He is challenging for every ball, dominating defences and returned into a reliable goalscorer.

The conundrum for Palace is simple. Benteke’s nine-goal season could become irreplaceable should he leave on a free transfer, and it could cost the club more to replace him than to retain his services.

Benteke’s resurrection will not go unnoticed, and Palace would see an ever-growing list of clubs ready to fight for his signature. But with only one senior striker confirmed to be at the club next season in the shape of Mateta, Palace must roll out the red carpet to ensure Benteke extends his stay at Selhurst Park.

STAR MAN
Tyrick Mitchell. The young academy graduate grabbed himself an assist and his first goal for the club.

BEST MOMENT
Mitchell’s goal to complete the comeback sparked jubilant scenes at Selhurst Park.