After a good opening day result against Fulham, things have gone slightly downhill for Roy Hodgson's men. Defeats to Liverpool and Watford followed up the opening day win, but Benteke might have learnt a lot from the defeats.

After steadying the ship for the Eagles last season and delivering safety, after a disastrous start to the season under Frank De Boer, surely the aim for the Croydon-born manager this term is a top-half finish in the Premier League. It is no easy thing to achieve a top ten finish in the top-half, and all playing-staff will need to be at the very top of their games to achieve this feat.

One player who could cost the Eagles a top-half finish is Christian Benteke, who is valued at £19.8m by Transfermarkt.  The big Belgian front-man has been woefully out of form for well over a season now, and surely it is about time Hodgson either trusted Norweigan Alexander Sorloth or season-long loan signing Andre Ayew to start games up-top for the Eagles. Alexander Sorloth opened his Crystal Palace account recently in a Carabao Cup fixture away at Swansea City, and looks as if he could be a real talent.

The Selhurst Park outfit do have the creativity of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend on either wing, and sorely need a forward who buries chances rather than fluffs them. Benteke's confidence is surely at an all-time low, and he is showing no signs of being capable of turning things around. If Roy Hodgson doesn't have the bravery to drop Benteke, it could certainly cost Crystal Palace a place in the top-half of the Premier League this season.

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