Christian Benteke signs a new deal at Aston Villa

Aston Villa have announced that Christian Benteke has withdrawn his transfer request and has agreed a contract extension through to 2017 at the club.

Aston Villa Manager Paul Lambert said: “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.”

Christian Benteke said: “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.”

Villa had placed a price tag of £25 million on the Belgian international, and there was reported interest from Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool. The striker scored 23 goals in 39 appearances for the club in the previous season after joining Villa from Genk for a fee of £7 million.

Source: Aston Villa FC