Stiliyan Petrov discusses Benteke’s Liverpool transfer, explains why he isn’t surprised

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Stiliyan Petrov believes Christian Benteke will be a ‘big loss’ for Aston Villa.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has told BT Sport that he wasn’t surprised to see striker Christian Benteke sign for Liverpool.

The Reds confirmed that they had signed the Belgian international striker on a long-term contract on Wednesday night, with Brendan Rodgers’ men paying the £32.5m buyout clause in Benteke’s Villa contract.

The 24-year-old smashed 49 goals in 100 games for Villa, becoming one of the Premier League’s most deadly strikers having made the move from Genk in 2012.

Now though, Villa have lost their top goalscorer, and whilst the move presents manager Tim Sherwood with a huge amount of money to spend on rebuilding his squad, replacing Benteke will not be an easy task.

Ex-Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov was asked about Benteke’s move on BT Sport, and said that the player’s performances for Villa meant his switch to Anfield was not surprising.

“Big loss. I think Christian’s performances and goals managed to keep Villa in the Premier League for the last three seasons. He was a major, major player for the club,” said Petrov when asked just how much of a blow the move is to Sherwood.

“I’m not surprised that he left, I’m not surprised that he went to Liverpool because when you play well, the way he was performing, you attract attention. It was a matter of time when he would leave. I wish him all the best and I think he will do very well there,” he added.

Who should replace Benteke?

Villa will now be on the lookout for a new striker, with Benteke’s departure leaving a huge hole in Sherwood’s attack ahead of the new season.

A number of forwards will be linked with moves to Villa Park, but no striker appears to fit the bill better than QPR’s Charlie Austin.

The 25-year-old proved himself in the Premier League last season with 18 goals for the R’s, but has just one year left on his contract at Loftus Road.

With Villa’s new funds now available, they should be able to afford a deal for Austin – and his predatory instincts would present Villa with an ideal replacement for Benteke.