The changes Brendan Rodgers needs to make if Liverpool sign Christian Benteke

“Listen we want Christian [Benteke] here. We want to keep our best players and Christian is certainly one of those.” Fresh from claiming his £100 winnings from a bet placed with Sky Sports reporter Pete Colley over Aston Villa’s ownership, Villans boss Tim Sherwood was quick to place a similar wager with Colley over Benteke’s future at Villa Park, with the 46-year-old now expected to pay out sooner rather than later following Thursday’s transfer revelation.

Rumours suggest Liverpool are prepared to activate Benteke’s £32.5m minimum fee release clause in their bid to secure the Belgian’s services. After weeks of speculation, a move to Anfield may finally be coming to fruition, yet the deal has been met with scepticism from some quarters of the Liverpool fanbase that believe the Reds are overspending for a player who perhaps does not match Brendan Rodgers’ demands.

The Liverpool boss in the past favoured a system that suited quicker attackers, with the onus being on threading passes through to a swift frontman who played on the shoulder of the last defender. With this, it was no shock that Daniel Sturridge proved to be a success at Anfield, though injury problems curtailed his impact last season. Nevertheless, the captures of Divock Origi and Danny Ings suggest Rodgers is keen on utilising this system, which makes the move for Benteke somewhat surprising.

While Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini are expected to be sold over the summer, and there is a need to swell the attacking ranks, £32.5m can rightly be considered excessive. Rodgers, though, must have a plan with which to utilise Benteke’s qualities to their full potential. The best system, on paper at least, would likely be a 4-3-2-1 formation – more commonly referred to as the ‘Christmas tree’ formation.

Given James Milner’s arrival from Manchester City, Rodgers has at his disposal the makings of an ideal midfield for such a system. Along with Milner, the Liverpool boss can call on Emre Can and recently appointed skipper Jordan Henderson to form perhaps the most industrious midfield in England’s top tier. In Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool’s attacking options are not without flair and pace. The duo are skilful performers who, in theory, can thrive with a striker of Benteke’s ability leading the attack.

The Belgian’s hold up play is a strong point of his game and when factoring in his statistically calculated WhoScored.com style of play of ‘likes to perform layoffs’, Benteke has the quality to bring runners from deep into play. A pass success rate of 66.7% last season is also a return in line with the Premier League’s top target men. Having often been deployed as the lone frontman with Villa, this isn’t a role that would be out of the ordinary for the 24-year-old.

While not as quick as Sturridge, Benteke is no slouch either and, with Coutinho and Firmino supporting him in the final third, the Belgium international can exploit the pairing’s creative ability. Indeed, in the three seasons Benteke has been at Villa, only Sergio Agüero (55), Luis Suarez (54) and Robin van Persie (48) have scored more league goals than the powerhouse frontman (42). While Liverpool’s approach differs to Villa’s, the former Genk forward is certainly good for a goal or two, of that there is no doubt, and with the chances that will be created for him, one would expect Benteke to hit the net consistently for his new club.

Sherwood looks all but set to lose his £100 bet with Colley, but one imagines he is more cut up about the departure of his star striker. Sherwood must be hoping Benteke performs a similar U-turn to Fabian Delph and commits his future to Villa, but the frontman is expected to bid farewell to the Villans in the coming days. Should he, as rumoured, secure his move to Liverpool, then it’s vital Rodgers utilises his abilities in order to avoid him flopping on Merseyside. If that is to be the case, a 4-3-2-1 formation is perhaps the ideal system with which to bring out the best in Benteke, for the benefit of both the player and club.