Player Focus: Villa Must Line Up Alternatives to Inconsistent Adebayor

Given his importance to Aston Villa maintaining their status as a Premier League outfit over the past three seasons, the task at hand for Tim Sherwood in replacing Christian Benteke may prove the most difficult and decisive for any manager this summer.

The Midlands outfit are set to be without four first team regulars from last season, with former captains Vlaar and Delph having left along with loanee Tom Cleverley. The club's transfer activity thus far, bringing in Micah Richards and Ligue 1 duo Idrissa Gueye and Jordan Amavi, has been encouraging but finding an adequate replacement for Benteke's influence on this side is an unenviable task.

With the Belgian set to put pen to paper at Liverpool's Melwood training base this week, Villa must now secure the services of a successor in claret and blue. Having had a direct hand in 50 (42 goals, 8 assists) of Villa's 117 league goals since his arrival at Villa Park (42.7%), replicating Benteke's impact will be a hard job for any newcomer.

Seemingly at the front of the queue, somewhat unimaginatively, it has been reported that Sherwood is keen to strike a deal with former club Tottenham for a reunion with Emmanuel Adebayor. Such links, understandably, have received a tentative reaction from much of the Villa fan base, who have legitimate concerns with regards to the striker's consistency and character.

It's true that Sherwood was able to get the best out of Adebayor in his short stint as Tottenham manager, and many were quick to liken Benteke's rejuvenation after the manager's appointment to that feat. Adebayor was, after all, out in the cold at the time, frozen out by Andre Villas-Boas after a disappointing start to the season. The 31-year old is prone to enduring such phases, and his WhoScored.com rating over the last 6 seasons is that of a player who tends to follow an impressive season with a thoroughly underwhelming one.

At his best, Adebayor is more than capable of succeeding at Villa. If you consider his playing time under Sherwood at Spurs to be somewhere close to that then his figures stack up to those of Benteke. 11 goals, 4 assists and a WhoScored rating of 7.22 under the current Villa boss helped Spurs attain a 5th-placed finish in 2013/14. However, under Pochettino, as they tend to do after an impressive streak, Adebayor’s statistics fell considerably. He scored 2 goals from 814 league minutes last season, with a 10.5% conversion rate earning a rating of just 6.63 from WhoScored.

Villa couldn't afford for Adebayor to have an off-season should he prove to be Benteke's replacement. Given numerous of fallings out with both playing and management staff at a number of clubs his is often a divisive character that could turn out to be hugely detrimental in a relegation battle. Adebayor has never had to play in such circumstances and his penchant for going off the boil when things aren't going his way would be a real concern, particularly given his lofty wage demands. With Villa having looked to avoid such an approach in terms of bowing to high pay packets in recent years, breaking such a structure on a player that tends to run hot and cold would be a huge gamble.

Elsewhere reports suggest that the club have taken an interest in Bournemouth's Callum Wilson, which would represent a complete departure from Villa's current playing style. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but Wilson is less capable when leading the line as a lone striker, with Bournemouth's approach dictating the fact that the 23-year old won just 0.6 aerial duels per game last season, compared to Benteke's Premier League-high of 6.5 per game. He's more of a direct threat with the ball at his feet, utilising his pace to average 1.5 dribbles per game and end the 2014/15 season with 20 goals and 7 assists.

Charlie Austin is again a completely different alternative to Adebayor's hold up play and Wilson's ability to drive play forwards himself. The 26-year old has been the subject of widespread interest since QPR's relegation and unsurprisingly so following an 18-goal haul last season.

He, like Wilson, is stronger when partnered up front but did win 2.6 aerial duels per game last season. Austin is a natural goalscorer in that he isn't afraid to be selfish in front of goal, with a considerable average of 3.7 shots per game. His chance creation figures are quite low (0.7 key passes per game) despite registering 5 assists, but a change in game plan, seeing the likes of Grealish and Gil given a creative license, could make the Englishman a good fit at Villa Park.

Scouring the stats for a like-for-like Benteke replacement - statistically at least - brought up an interesting option from the Eredivisie. Frenchman Sebastien Haller only recently secured a permanent switch to Utrecht having been named their player of the year after a six-month loan spell from Auxerre last season. Bought for a very modest €800k, however, the Dutch outfit could be tempted into a sale should an offer around the €5m mark come in for the striker.

Haller only turned 21 last month but hit the ground running in Holland, with a direct hand in 16 league goals (11 goals, 5 assists) in 17 appearances. His 6'2" frame aided in a sizeable average of 4.6 aerial duel wins per game last season, while averages of 2.9 shots and 1 key pass per game - along with a 66.3% pass accuracy - were incredibly similar to Benteke's respective figures (2.8, 1.1 and 66.7%), all for an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.42.

Any such signing would also be a risk but could reap much more significant rewards at a considerably lower price. Taking a player from an inferior league and expecting them to replicate their figures is always a gamble but it's one that paid off on Benteke and the benefit to Villa both on the pitch and off it from a financial standpoint has been huge as far as the Belgian is concerned.

One thing’s for sure; if Sherwood does pursue his interest in Adebayor - as it seems he is doing - then lining up a younger alternative should also be high on his agenda, if not at its very top.

Who do you think Aston Villa should sign to replace Christian Benteke? Let us know in the comments below