Dougie Freedman has a superb eye for talent in his role of Director of Football at Crystal Palace.
There have been a few signed by the Glaswegian who are clearly good footballers, but it was simply a case of being the right player at the wrong time.
Players such as Alexander Sorloth – who netted just one goal in 20 games for the Eagles – have soared since leaving Selhurst Park, with the Norway international scoring 17 goals for Villarreal so far this season.
However, there is another player who left Crystal Palace – one signed before Dougie Freedman even began his Director of Football role – who is also now shining…
Player Crystal Palace sold outdoing every other player in his league
Well, Crystal Palace decided to sell Christian Benteke to D.C. United back in August 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
The Belgium international was signed from Liverpool for a club record £32m fee back in August 2016 – scoring 37 goals in 177 appearances for Crystal Palace in total.
However, 17 of those goals came in Benteke’s first season at Selhurst Park, and he quietly departed SE25 after becoming better known for his goal droughts than his goalscoring.
Now, the Belgian has rediscovered his spark in the United States.
Benteke is outdoing everybody in Major League Soccer so far this season, earning an average rating of 8.47 on WhoScored – 0.47 more than Giorgos Giakoumakis, the second best performer.
The 33-year-old has scored four goals in just four MLS appearances so far this season, winning two Man of the Match awards.
It may still be early days in the current MLS campaign, but Benteke is even outperforming the likes of Inter Miami No.9 Luis Suarez – Lionel Messi is also out in the United States, although the Argentina international has been injured lately, so it would be unfair to include him.
Good to see Christian Benteke thriving
While Benteke failed to live up to that remarkable debut campaign for Crystal Palace, he was still a popular member of the squad and always kept going – despite an obvious lack of confidence in front of goal.
The man from Kinshasa enjoyed something of a resurgence in his penultimate season at Crystal Palace, scoring ten goals in 30 Premier League appearances in the 2020/21 campaign, before deciding to try a new experience in Washington after the 2021/22 season with Patrick Vieira.
Hopefully, Benteke can keep finding the net out in the United States, and enjoy a strong end to his impressive career.
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