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Delph hails 'absolute monster' Benteke

Fabian Delph believes his Aston Villa team-mates are hungry to improve © PA Photos

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Christian Benteke has been described by one of his team-mates as "an absolute monster" tipped to take his record-breaking season to a glorious conclusion.

Midfielder Fabian Delph insists the Belgian has by no means finished the trail of destruction which brought him a hat-trick against Sunderland on Monday, and underlined him as the club's highest ever scorer of Premier League goals in a season.

"He looks like he could get more," Delph said. "We have three games to go and I would put a bet on him getting at least another three or four.

"He's young and if we're building around players like him and can keep him, the future is going to look a lot better than it has done in the last few years. He's really happy here.

"I think he is an absolute monster. Defenders must come up against this boy and think: 'He's 22 years old, let me try to rough him up.' But every centre-back who has tried it has failed.

"Chris Samba gave him a game but for his second goal on Monday, I think his head was above the crossbar. It was frightening and I thought: 'He's got wings'.

"He has dragged us through so many games and I was quite surprised he didn't get Young Player of the Season. He's my pal and I'm a bit biased but even from the outside, you would have thought he would be up there, if not getting it, then very close."

Delph said there had been no evidence around Villa Park or the club's Bodymoor Heath training ground that Benteke had developed his considerable power through pumping iron.

The man who has now scored 18 League goals in his debut season in England is more renowned for spending any available time on the training ground honing his finishing.

"He's a natural monster," Delph added. "When he came, I asked him: 'Do you eat raw meat?' He said no - it was just natural. John Carew was very similar. He was very strong. Christian is 22 years old but John was about 85.

"Christian doesn't do any upper bodywork whatsoever. He works on his core strength. He works on his legs. He is naturally like that."

Delph believes the former Genk player fits perfectly into Villa's young and hungry dressing room.

"We are like a little family," Delph said. "People on the outside probably think it looks like a creche. We are just full of kids. But we are all very mature boys. We all live good, clean lifestyles. There are no egos in the dressing room."

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