Christian Benteke is heading to D.C. United, as the MLS club announced a deadline day move to acquire the Belgium striker from Crystal Palace.
Benteke, 31, will be available to play for Wayne Rooney’s side once his International Transfer Certificate and U.S. work visa are approved. His contract runs through the 2024 season, with a club option for 2025.
“Christian is a top player who has played at the highest level for a long time,” said Rooney in a club statement announcing the move. “His experience and ability to score goals and help the team will be invaluable. It’s exciting for the team and myself to get him in and playing. He will make a huge difference.”
With 45 caps for Belgium and 280 Premier League appearances, Benteke will be expected to be one of the most dangerous strikers in MLS once United can put him on the field. Still, the move comes after a rough patch with Palace, where Benteke began the 2021-22 season as the club’s first-choice striker only to fade into a substitute role due to poor finishing form. His last Premier League goal came in November of 2021, and he only appeared in four of Palace’s final 16 games of the season.
That said, in the 2020-21 season, Benteke scored 10 goals for Palace, a rate that points to having the quality to help an MLS team in need. United sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and are 27th out of 28 teams. 19 teams have scored more goals than the Black-and-Red this season, though the presence of Taxi Fountas (11 goals) and Ola Kamara (8) has left them less in need of a goalscorer than better play at the back.
“We are getting an elite striker in Christian and completing this signing on transfer deadline day is a huge accomplishment for the club,” said United GM Lucy Rushton in a team statement. “Christian is a dynamic forward who has scored goals at the highest levels. His strength and power will make him a focal point of our team and his ability to link-up play will be a valuable asset to us. We are excited to get Christian integrated with the team so he can make an immediate impact on the field in the final stretch of the season.”
How will Benteke fit in with D.C. United?
Rooney’s plans for Benteke surely include a partnership with the electric Fountas, but how that will look remains to be seen. Since Rooney officially signed on as the team’s new head coach, they have played out of a 4-2-3-1 formation, then a very fluid 4-4-2, and on Wednesday night used a 4-3-3 that Rooney hinted was tailored for Charlotte FC.
For most of 2022, United has been a high-pressing team, but under Rooney, they have dropped their lines off and seem more ready to find a big center forward’s feet (having traded to acquire another target man, Miguel Berry, earlier in the transfer window) than the previous, more vertical approach.
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