Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, has signed a new four-year deal with the club, after withdrawing his transfer request.
The Belgium international earlier this month notified the club that he wanted to leave and was left out of their training camp. However, after he returned to training, he sat down with the manager and decided to pen a contract that will keep him at Villa Park till 2017.
“I had a full and frank discussion with Christian Benteke on his return to training this week regarding his future. It is my opinion that the best thing for Christian is to remain at Aston Villa. He enjoyed a terrific first season at the Club and can use that as a platform to hopefully enjoy more success this season. I’m delighted, having time to re-evaluate his future, Christian has decided to commit to the Club. It’s a huge bonus and I’m sure the supporters are every bit as delighted as me to have him on board and raring to go,” Aston Villa Manager, Paul Lambert said.
Benteke explained why he made the u-turn: “I spoke with the Manager when I returned to training and we had a good talk. I am very happy to be back here in Birmingham and at Aston Villa, and to sign a new contract. This is a great Club and it has given me a lot. Now I have to give back to my teammates and the fans who have always been right behind me. The end of last season was very good and the lads were very strong. It was not easy but we came through it and the confidence is high. So everyone knows what we have to do now – be better. I need to be better than last year.”
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