A £27m arrival from Liverpool in the summer of 2016, Christian Benteke may have been seen by Crystal Palace as the man who could consistently fire in the goals for the club.
Speaking after the announcement of his signing, then Eagles manager Alan Pardew said: “I’m pleased the board have been brave with this move. He’s someone I know very well because I wanted to take him to Newcastle. I thought he’d be a fantastic fit for that club. He got the move to Liverpool and it hasn’t quite worked out. For us, we need to get him back to doing what he does best. His style of play, the way he feeds off crosses. He’ll enjoy that with the wide players we have.”
Unfortunately for Pardew and Palace, Benteke has been nothing short of a monumental disaster.
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In 111 games for the London side, he has found the back of the net a paltry 22 times, whilst also only providing a further ten assists. To put that into context, Benteke has been worth a staggering £1.2m per goal. Hardly the biggest evidence of him being an astute financial investment.
His miseries have extended to this season too, with current Palace boss Roy Hodgson struggling to get the best out of him. As per Transfermarkt, he has managed to score just once in 21 games across all competitions, and that it was in the Eagles’ 3-1 defeat away to Everton.
Calling all Eagles fans: Can you get 90% on this quickfire Palace quiz?
Benteke’s struggles are no doubt a painful memory for Steve Parish and co, a symbol of the kind of consequences they stand to face if a big-money signing doesn’t work out. Palace aren’t like Manchester City or Manchester United in having a bottomless pit of money, and so when they do make a splash in the transfer market, there really is no room for failure.
The Belgian’s nightmare time at Selhurst Park is a damning verdict on Pardew’s decision to bring him into the club in the first place.
Meanwhile, here’s FFC’s verdict on whether Palace should sign this ace.