Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke is a former Aston Villa player.
The former Villa striker also said that the Villa Park faithful loved Benteke during his time at the club.
Bent said on the Drive show on talkSPORT (6:15pm, June 14, 2019): “I was pretty surprised to be fair that Villa didn’t maybe look at Benteke to maybe bring him back, because I thought obviously he hasn’t played as much football as he would liked to at Crystal Palace, and I know the fans absolutely loved him.”
Aston Villa spell
Benteke was on the books of Villa from 2012 until 2015 when he joined Liverpool for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £32.5 million.
The Belgium international was a success during his spell at Villa, scoring 49 goals in 101 games for the Villans, as reported on BBC Sport.
The striker, though, struggled to make an impact at Liverpool and moved to Palace in 2016 for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £27 million.
Crystal Palace spell
Benteke has been inconsistent at Palace and has failed to replicate the form he showed when he was at Villa.
The 28-year-old striker made only nine starts and just seven substitute appearances in the Premier League for Palace this past season, scoring goal and providing one assist in the process, according to WhoScored.
During the 2017-18 campaign, Benteke made 24 starts and seven substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Eagles, scoring three goals and providing five assists in the process, according to WhoScored.
Back in 2016-17, the Belgian scored 15 goals and provided two assists in 36 league matches for Palace, according to WhoScored.
