Aston Villa intend to keep their "Monster" Christian Benteke

Aston Villa hero Christian Benteke stole the headlines again this past week after yet another monstrous performance during Villa's 6-1 victory against Paolo Di Canio's Sunderland. The Belgian striker sealed a lightning quick hat-trick within the space of 18 minutes during the second half, before receiving the due adulation of the Villa fans after being substituted off for the injury-ridden Darren Bent.

 The 22-year-old hitman has had one of the greatest debut seasons in recent Premier League history. He also became the first ever Aston Villa player to reach the landmark of 18 goals in the Premier League after Monday's astounding performance, whilst also surpassing Dwight Yorke's previous record of 17 goals at the same time. Benteke's hat-trick lifted Villa five points clear of the relegation zone, whilst improving his goal scoring record to 13 goals in 15 appearances during 2013. (A statistic bettered only by Ronaldo and Messi)

 Unsurprisingly, Aston Villa are determined to retain the services of their prize asset, as his dominant performances have garnered the attention of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Despite Villa's 16th placed league position, Benteke still holds a debt of gratitude towards Paul Lambert, who fervently pushed to finalize the £7m deal with Genk, whilst Arsenal hesitated at the potential gamble. A gamble who has been virtually unplayable at times for Villa, who now sits just one goal behind Spurs talisman Gareth Bale, whom he finished second to in the poll for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

 Aerially, Benteke is simply untouchable after winning 260 headers this season. To put this into perspective, this is more than Luis Suarez, Robin Van Persie, Michu and Gareth Bale combined. Statistically, Benteke is the deadliest forward in the Premier League with a conversion rate of 25.7%. Once again, he reigns superior over the aforementioned players which categorically render him as the most consistently played and clinical forward in the Premier League.

 Fellow Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph said to the Guardian: "I think he is an absolute monster." Apparently, Delph proceeded to state that Benteke actually does no upper-body strength training in the gym, a fact which is equally as depressing for both Premier League defenders and regular gym enthusiasts.

 In conclusion, Fabian Delph is correct. The only term which seems relevant to describe Christian Benteke is that of a "monster". Benteke still has several years ahead of him to develop both physically and competitively, starting with his personal target of becoming Belgium's first-choice striker ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil which the Belgians are destined to qualify for. In terms of Aston Villa, they are expected to offer him a vastly improved contract which consists of a lot more money than he currently earns, a factor which will certainly provide him with the additional incentive to stay at Villa Park.

By Zak Bird