He’s the Aston Villa hero who the fans still adore.
And as it’s not going too well for him at Crystal Palace right now, talk of a January transfer move for Christian Benteke is rife.
No doubt Villa would be interested if he became available, but how likely, or unlikely, are his chances of ever returning?
VILLA’S STRIKER SHORTAGE
With Jonathan Kodjia ruled out for the majority of the season, Villa need a new goal-getter.
Keinan Davis has been leading the line of late and Scott Hogan is now back available after a month on the sidelines.
Gabby Agbonlahor isn’t far behind, either.
But the trio have managed just three league goals between them this season so boss Steve Bruce wants a tried and trusted forward on board.
He admitted recently that Villa won’t be able to pay ‘millions’ on a new recruit as the club still need to balance the books in order to fall in line with Financial Fair Play regulations.
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So a loan move will be their only option - and there’s expected to be a handful of strikers available.
BENTEKE’S PALACE STRUGGLES
It hasn’t quite gone to plan for the big man since he left Villa in 2015.
A failed move to Liverpool saw him switch to Crystal Palace and his goals-to-games ratio has dropped from one-in-two at Villa to around one-in-three at Selhurst Park.
He’s yet to score this season and we all saw what happened over the weekend with his last-minute penalty miss.
At Villa he used to coolly slot those away but after stealing the ball off regular spot-kick taker, Luka Milivojevic, Benteke failed to convert and his side subsequently missed out on two crucial points in their fight against the drop.
Benteke was booed by his own supporters and has since become a ‘pantomime villain’ according to boss Roy Hodgson, despite apologising for his actions.
That said, Hodgson still believes he is an important player for the club.
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After the 2-1 win over Watford on Tuesday night the manager said:
“The thing that impressed me with him was that he kept going, he never hid and he did something really quite incredible in the last minute of the game which he’s not associated with when he chased that ball down, back to (goalkeeper) Gomes and forced him into a poor kick and effectively killed the game dead for us.
“It is a minor moment in the game, I know, and I’m sure it’s not going to be flagged up as one of the highlights of this match, but when you’re a coach sometimes those type of moments mean a lot to you.
“We do work with him and encourage him to work a bit harder on the defensive side of the game, which is not natural for him, so when you see that happening it gives you a little bit of pleasure.”
WHY IT WON’T HAPPEN
Boss Steve Bruce would jump at the chance of working with Benteke.
And Villa fans would welcome him back with open arms.
But the chances of it happening are extremely slim.
It’s a World Cup year, remember, and Benteke will need to be scoring regularly in the top-flight to keep his place in the squad.
Plus, if he was to become available there would be a stack of higher-ranked clubs who are interested.
And let’s be honest, Palace are in no mood to sell their best players anyway. So there you have it!
The players the fans want to sign!
We recently asked you which players you thought Aston Villa should target in the January transfer window.
These are just some of the most popular suggestions we received.
Use the comments box below to tell us which players you would go for.
Peter Savery: Lookman from Everton on loan, fast, eager to prove himself and as his midweek performance in Europe shows he knows where the back of the net is!! Would combine well with Davis too I reckon.
Andy Milford: Missed opportunity I know, but I would have loved to have seen Jermaine Defoe at Villa.
Ron Tame: James Milner he wasn't allowed to finish the job
LeeAVFC: Benteke should never have left
Kerry Overington: Charlie Austin profilic goalscorer
Simon Shingler: Danny Ings, Ashley Young and James Milner
All you need to know about Aston Villa now
Daniel Tomassi: Afobe and harry arter flint also would be a great addition
Jonathan Woolley: Kaemachio from Leicester on loan great young striker that will score goals not getting a look in at leicester
Rob Southwell: Peter Crouch.
Steve Davies: Kemar Roofe
Scott Balchin : Blackett from Reading as a CB option
Mason Beavon: Stuart Armstrong
Craig Smith: Cattermole
Further reading
Why are we starting him over O'Hare?
Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that Tottenham Hotspur could recall Josh Onomah in January if transfer business doesn’t go to plan.
That has prompted quite a response from the Aston Villa faithful, as you can see below.
Onomah, only 20, has scored three times in 21 appearances for Aston Villa this season having agreed a loan move back in the summer.
It’s been an agreement that, until now, has largely been a successful one; it’s benefitted all three parties in terms of development.
Onomah, also catching the eye for the England U21s this season, has scored in the draw at Bristol City and in wins over Burton and Sunderland.
Here's your thoughts on the issue...
Big draw
More TV viewers have tuned in to watch Aston Villa this season than any almost other team outside of the top flight.
Villa’s televised league matches have attracted a combined audience of 1.8m between the start of the season and the end of November, according to figures taken from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB).
Of course, Villa have been on more times than anyone else too!
Find out how Villa compare with the rest of the Championship's big hitters.
Window shopping
Aston Villa will use the January transfer window to strengthen the squad and boost their promotion push.
Boss Steve Bruce and director of football Steve Round have held lengthy discussions over targets and the scouting team have been tasked with finding foreign bargains.
There will be lists, even lists of lists, reams of information and hours of footage about likely candidates in every position.
And the plan is to act fast and get the new players on board as early as possible.
Gregg Evans answers the big questions going into January.
Transfer tinder
Who should Aston Villa keep and who should they sell during the January transfer window?
There will be plenty of speculation about incoming players, but what about those heading for the Bodymoor Heath exit door?
We want you to tell us which of Steve Bruce's men must be retained at all costs, and who is surplus to requirements.
To avoid overloading our interactive 'Keep or Sell' widget we've split the Villa squad into two sections.
First of all, in this piece, we will consider those whose primary task it is to keep the ball out of the net.
HAVE YOUR SAY BY USING OUR INTERACTIVE WIDGET
Festive target
Steve Bruce wants his troops to be within striking distance of the top-two by the turn of the year.
Villa drew 0-0 with Millwall on Saturday and missed out on a golden opportunity to make ground on Wolves and Cardiff who both also dropped points.
The rare double slip-up passed Villa by but Bruce isn’t too concerned with the respective nine and seven-point gap at this stage.
Instead he’s more concerned about staying in touch with the stand-out teams in the Championship amid a crippling injury crisis that has struck the club already this season.
Here's how he sees the situation.
Albert A-do-more
Ten goals so far in a stunning season are not enough for Villa winger Albert Adomah.
As well as scoring himself he wants to help others do the same.
He told the News & Record: “I think I’ve done well scoring for the team but, at the same time, I haven’t achieved one of my targets – assisting goals.
“People say that I’m scoring so that can only be a good thing but my main target is to assist because I’m a creative winger and I’m still looking to do that more frequently.
“My target is ten assists and I’ve only got one so far. I’ve reached the target of ten goals but I’ve still got a long way to go to hit my assists target.”