Christian Benteke/import

Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Belgium national team.

Early life
Benteke was born in Kinshasa in 1990. He and his family fled during the Mobutu regime and emigrated to Liège, Belgium.

Standard Liège and Genk
Benteke played youth football for JS Pierreuse and later Standard Liège before moving to Genk. He returned to Standard in January 2009. On 7 August 2009 he joined KV Kortrijk on loan for a season. He spent the following season on loan at Mechelen as part of the transfer of Aloys Nong, who moved from Mechelen to Standard Liège. He returned to Genk in 2011, scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances during one season at the club.

2012–13 season
On 31 August 2012, Benteke joined Premier League club Aston Villa on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be around £7 million. Benteke stated it was a dream come true in getting a move to the Premier League and thanked the players and manager at K.R.C. Genk for his move.

On 15 September 2012, Benteke scored on his debut for Aston Villa in a 2–0 win against Swansea City, after coming on as a substitute for Austrian forward Andreas Weimann. The goal came when Swansea defender Ashley Williams headed the ball into Benteke's path, which he then lifted over the keeper and tapped in on the volley. Villa manager Paul Lambert praised Benteke's performance on his debut calling him "unplayable". He then scored Villa's only goal in a 1–1 home draw with Norwich City. He added a further two goals to his tally during a 3–2 victory over Swindon Town in the League Cup. He scored the winner in a 1–0 Premier League victory for Villa against Reading at Villa Park on 27 November to continue his impressive start in English football.

Benteke then scored Villa's fourth goal in a 4–1 League Cup win over Norwich City at Carrow Road. Benteke further added to his impressive start in Premier League football by scoring two goals in Villa's 3–1 win against Liverpool at Anfield on 15 December. In addition to the two goals, he also assisted Villa's second goal with a back-heel to Andreas Weimann. Paul Lambert said afterwards that 'Benteke has been unbelievable', after already stating midweek (post–Norwich) that 'you run out of things to say about the guy, how well he's performing and how young he is'. Around Christmas time, Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas was reportedly interested in signing Benteke, referring to him as the season's "surprise package".

After not scoring for three games, Benteke scored Villa's first penalty kick in almost a year in a 2–2 draw away to Swansea City in Villa's first game of 2013. He recorded his 10th goal of the season with a 28-yard strike against West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion in a 2–2 draw at The Hawthorns. The goal was nominated for January's goal of the month competition on Match of the Day. He then netted Villa's first goal in their 2–1 League Cup semi-final victory over Bradford City. However, the victory was not enough as Bradford won 4–3 on aggregate to progress to the final. Former England striker Michael Owen called him one of the signings of the season and posted a tweet the day after the semi-final saying: 'I'm seriously impressed with Benteke. Benteke continued his rich scoring form with a goal against Newcastle United and a brace against Everton, in a game that Villa had led 3–1 at one point but eventually finished 3–3. He racked up his 15th goal in all competitions, as well as tallying six goals in five games, when he scored a penalty in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on 10 February 2013. This was Villa's first league victory in eight games, since Benteke inspired the win against Liverpool back in December.

During a league game against Manchester City on 4 March 2013, two Villa fans dressed as astronauts were caught on camera holding a sign proclaiming that "Benteke is out of this world". Benteke scored a deflected goal in a crucial 2–1 victory at Reading, scoring the clubs 1000th goal in the Premier League in the process. The following week he went on to score yet another crucial goal that sealed a 3–2 win over Queens Park Rangers. He then scored the third goal to seal a vital 3–1 win against relegation rivals Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. Benteke was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year after his excellent debut season, eventually finishing as runner-up to eventual double award winner Gareth Bale. On 29 April, Benteke put in a world class performance by scoring his first hat-trick for Villa in a 6–1 thrashing of Sunderland. These goals also saw him exceed Dwight Yorke's record for most Premier League goals in a season (18) and pass the 20 goal mark in all competitions, becoming the first player to do so for Villa since Juan Pablo Ángel in the 2003–04 season.

On 11 May, Benteke Scored Villa's only goal in a 1–2 loss to Chelsea but in the second half he was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for a high boot on John Terry, meaning he would miss the last game of the season. Benteke finished his first season in England, with an impressive 19 goals in the Premier League and 23 overall. This led to speculation about where the Belgian's future lied, with a host of teams across Europe being linked to the striker.

2013–14 season
On 8 July 2013, Benteke alerted the interest of the Premier League's elite by handing in a transfer request. Villa, though, insisted the striker would only be allowed to leave if their valuation (rumoured at £25 million) was met. However on 19 July Benteke withdrew his transfer request, after talks with manager Paul Lambert, and signed a new four-year contract with the club. On his second pre-season appearance, he scored a hat-trick against Crewe Alexandra in a 5–1 victory. He finished pre-season with 7 goals in 5 appearances, including two goals against Málaga at Villa Park.

On 17 August 2013, Benteke scored twice, one penalty and one headed goal via a rebound from a missed penalty, in Villa's 3–1 away-win against Arsenal on the opening day of the season. Four days later, Benteke scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a 2–1 defeat. He scored his fourth goal in as many games, as Villa comfortably beat League One side Rotherham United 3–0 in the League Cup second round. He continued scoring, as he racked up his fifth goal in all competitions, against Newcastle United in a 1–2 defeat at Villa Park. However his brilliant early season form was abruptly ended, as he was injured in the next match against Norwich City. It was later confirmed that he would be out for up to six weeks with a hip flexor injury. However he made his comeback earlier than expected, after coming on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur a month later (20 October) in a 2–0 defeat.

After loss of form and niggling injuries prevented Benteke scoring for 12 games (his last goal being against Newcastle on 14 September), he eventually ended his drought against Arsenal in a 1–2 defeat on 13 January 2014. He followed this up with goals in back-to-back games against Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion, in a 2–2 draw and 4–3 victory respectively.

International career
He was member for the Belgium U17 team at 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea where he played 3 games and scored 1 goal.

On 19 May 2010 he made his midfield début for the Belgian national team in a friendly match against Bulgaria in Brussels after his former coach at Kortrijk, Georges Leekens, became national coach. On 15 August 2012 he scored his first goal in a 4–2 win against the Netherlands. Since then, he has become a regular starter with the Belgian national team.

International goals

 * Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.

Career statistics
1Includes one Belgian Super Cup match. 2Includes FA Cup and League Cup matches.

Honours

 * Standard Liège
 * Belgian First Division (1): 2008–09