Aston Villa assistant manager Ray Wilkins has spoken out about the departure of striker Christian Benteke, admitting it will be difficult for the club to replace the powerhouse.
Benteke departed Villa on Wednesday as Liverpool confirmed his £32.5million move to Merseyside, bringing an end to his three year spell in the Midlands, where he established himself as the club's finest player, scoring 49 goals in 101 games.
Disappointed not to coach Benteke for longer
Despite only being at the club since his appointment in June, Wilkins explained that he had "met Benteke in Portugal" at the club's pre-season training camp, and believed him to be "a very nice young man".
His only regret was that he didn't get more time to coach the Belgian, saying "I hoped he could have achieved his ambitions with us".
A difficult player to replace
Much has been made of how Villa will go about replacing such an important player as Benteke, and whether or not they will use the money wisely.
Many striker's have been linked, with Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor rumoured to be a £5million target, whilst an enquiry has allegedly been made for Bordeaux forward Diego Rolan.
When asked about the challenge of replacing such a crucial player, Wilkins admitted that "to replace 20 goals is very hard graft", and said "Christian scored 42% of our goals last year in the league," meaning that it's "very difficult" to replace him.
Despite there being a large amount of money available, Wilkins was sombre in saying "As much money as you recieve in, there aren't too many out there who can contribute like that."
Post Benteke
With or without a frontline striker, Villa must now press on ahead of the new season. Starting with a game away to newly promoted AFC Bournemouth on August 8, they face a tricky first six games, including a home match against Louis Van Gaal's freshly bolstered Manchester United side.