Has Christian Benteke made a mistake by staying at Aston Villa?

Benteke is competing with Lukaku for the striker’s spot in Belgium’s line-up

It is an almost universally recognised rule that the bigger team you play for, the more likely you are to earn a starting place in your national side. If Benteke was spending next season knocking in goals at White Hart Lane, Anfield or the Emirates, it would put him in a much better position to compete with fellow Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku for that spot leading Belgium’s attack.

That doesn’t mean he won’t be starting in Rio come June. Benteke is obviously still good enough to make the team while playing his domestic football with Aston Villa. But there is always going to be that creeping feeling that a move up could have solidified his place for Brazil 2014, and if things don’t go right for him at Villa Park this season, he might start to really regret his decision to stay.

So looking at it from a selfish point of view, did Benteke make the right decision by choosing to stay at Villa? Probably not. He is taking a big risk, and putting a hell of a lot of faith in Paul Lambert and this young Aston Villa squad to make things happen in the next few years.

Lambert is overseeing a project right now at Villa Park, made obvious by the clubs signings of Leandro Bacuna, Jores Okore and Nicklas Helenius, who all happen to be under the age of 21. Any success at the club will not come quickly, and it will take patience on Benteke’s part before the squad can churn out wins on a regular basis.

If he chose instead to leave, he could be earning more money, playing in a bigger stadium with more endorsements, European football and guaranteed top flight football every season. He would have secured his future. By staying, that future is now very much in doubt. If Lambert’s project doesn’t work, Benteke could end up stuck playing for a relegation contender for the best years of his career, and what a waste that would be.

Having said that, is it admirable that he has chosen to honour his contract; to stay with the club that showed enough faith in him to spend a reported £7M last summer to bring an unknown player to the EPL? Yes, of course it is.

In a sport fast becoming a mercenary business, where loyalty is now the exception, it is nice to see a player choose to stick with a club rather than bailing out at the first opportunity. Benteke’s words after he signed his contract extension sounded like a breath of fresh air to anyone sick of the ultra-greed spreading through world football:

“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 team-mates and the fans who have always been right behind me.”

This is a far cry from the Benteke of a couple of months ago, who said “If Aston Villa say I must stay, I won’t necessarily accept that.” I don’t know about you, but I prefer the new Benteke.

So despite it arguably being an illogical move from his perspective, Benteke deserves a lot of respect for his change of heart. He has decided to stick it out with his club, even though it could mean that he may end up missing out on European football, the big paycheck or the dream move that he almost deserves this season.

Loyalty is a quality not to be taken lightly, and surprisingly Paul Lambert has somehow managed to persuade Benteke that it was too.

So well done Paul Lambert, and well done Christian Benteke. In some ways it was a missed opportunity and a stupid decision to stay, but it was still the right thing for you to do. Let’s hope for your sake that the project at Villa works quickly, because I for one want to see you playing European football sooner rather than later.