would have guaranteed Premier League survival for
Aston Villa, Tim Sherwood feels.
Tim Sherwood believes the loss of Christian Benteke has hit
Aston Villa as hard as Liverpool and Tottenham felt the
departures of Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale.
Benteke was the catalyst for Villa beating the drop from the
Premier League last season, with the Belgium striker scoring
eight times in the final eight games of the campaign.
The 24-year-old subsequently moved to Liverpool in a deal
worth £32.5million in the close-season, and Villa have struggled
for inspiration and goals in his absence.
Ahead of Saturday's trip to face beleaguered champions
Chelsea, Sherwood's side - who have scored just six times in
eight top-flight matches this term - sit 18th in the table having
not won since the opening day of the season.
Liverpool and Tottenham also found it impossible to replace the
quality of Suarez and Bale when they left for Barcelona and Real
Madrid in 2014 and 2013 respectively.
And Sherwood feels Benteke's sale - coupled with the loss of
Fabian Delph to Manchester City and Tom Cleverley's decision
to sign for Everton after a season on loan at Villa Park - is just
as significant for Villa.
"Benteke leaving was absolutely the same as Suarez, or Gareth
Bale," he said.
"If he didn't have a clause in his contract then £100m wouldn't
have taken him away from us.
"He wasn't worth selling for any money. No money can
guarantee you Premier League survival - that player could.
"It's all relative but we scraped through relegation last season
and were the worst team left in the Premier League. We lost our
three best players and that should put it in perspective.
"You do drop, we can't afford to drop. We have to make sure we
stay at least where we were, and higher. That's the size of the
task ahead.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy and I think all the decision-
makers at the club appreciated that."
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