Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has rued the decision to sell Christian Benteke, insisting they wouldn’t be mired in the relegation zone had the club retained his services.
Benteke secured a big money switch to Liverpool over the summer after the Reds activated his release clause of £32.5m.
Villa invested heavily during the transfer window, but sit four points from safety, heaping pressure on Sherwood.
The Belgian bagged eight goals in the final eight games of the campaign to guarantee the club’s safety and Sherwood insists the striker was worth upwards of £100m to the Villans.
"Benteke leaving was absolutely the same as (Luis) Suarez, or Gareth Bale," Sherwood 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."
Benteke has initially struggled following his move to Liverpool, bagging just two goals in his opening six appearances of the season.
For more stats on Christian Benteke, click here to view his WhoScored player page
