Since Christian Benteke has submitted a transfer request Aston Villa will now be linked with a host of strikers. The first strikers to be linked with Aston Villa are Chelsea pair Demba Ba and Lukaku. Chelsea is linked with Benteke and rumours have been floating around that Chelsea may offer either Lukaku or Ba as part of a cash-player deal. However, if Benteke doesn’t sell to Chelsea, Ba is still seen as an option by Lambert.
First let’s talk about Lukaku. Lukaku has had a terrific season at West Brom, scoring 17 goals yet made less appearances than Benteke. If Chelsea want to sign Benteke, they might offer player-plus cash deal. If such an offer came around, I would definitely accept it. I’d even accept 23 million plus Lukaku on loan. Lukaku is a similar player to Benteke, but I think he has more potential and perhaps, an even better attitude than Benteke. However, I doubt this will actually happen because I just don’t think that Mourinho would want to lose Lukaku, but both can’t be at the club. They are way to similar, in fact some news organisations (a lower number though) believe that Chelsea aren’t interested in Benteke, and Benteke doesn’t want to join Chelsea. It appears as though Tottenham is the only option, but can they afford Benteke? Probably not.
Demba Ba is linked to Aston Villa, having only joined Chelsea 6 months ago. Ba is a similar player to Benteke, big, strong and can score goals. Media claim that Aston Villa will look at Ba no matter where Benteke moves too. Ba may cost approximately 5-7 million, I think that’s a rather affordable price tag for a player that could score us goals for the next 2-4 seasons. There is a slight risk with Ba, his knee isn’t in ideal condition and if he get’s injured, he’s surely out for a long period of time. But it’s undeniable that this player can score goals, he’s scored goals at West Ham, Newcastle and a few at Chelsea. Ba hasn’t played well at Chelsea and Mourinho may be interested in selling.