Christian Benteke Would Thrive Under Antonio Conte at Chelsea

It was Halloween, and Chelsea's season was ready to take another horror turn. From a position of power, they had allowed Liverpool back into the game at Stamford Bridge and the Reds were now in the ascendancy.

Philippe Coutinho's equaliser with the last kick of the first half had taken the wind from Chelsea's sails. Their confidence was knocked, and the Merseysiders could sense it. Crucially, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could sense it, too.

Klopp introduced Christian Benteke into proceedings just after the hour mark, and within 20 minutes, Liverpool had won the three points. Coutinho scored his second, while Benteke sealed the win in the 83rd minute.

So punch-drunk were Chelsea, then-manager Jose Mourinho summoned his coaches into the centre circle after the game for a debrief. They looked bewildered as to how they were going to arrest the demise of the Blues' season. Liverpool had just inflicted the west Londoners' seventh loss in all competitions in 2015/16—the eighth if we're counting the Community Shield.

They were all over the place. Worst of all, they were being beaten by teams at their own game. Klopp had tried his methods up to 60 minutes but without penetrating Chelsea enough, and he then used Benteke as a battering ram. The Belgian came on to ask questions of the centre-backs, and he did just that.

Chelsea had no answer. They faltered, and it was painful for those witnessing it inside Stamford Bridge.

Now the Blues are being linked with a summer move for Benteke, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. According to the Times' Matt Hughes (h/t James Benson of the Daily Express), incoming boss Antonio Conte is targeting Benteke to form a partnership with Diego Costa up front.

With an apparent focus on Chelsea deploying wingers, the plan is for Conte to give the Blues more presence in the opposition box where they can score more goals.

For those fans hoping any number of glamorous names would be arriving at Chelsea this summer, the news of interest in Benteke should be more encouraging. If the move happens, it would be a sign that the club have finally returned to their policy of old in the transfer market.

Where Chelsea have always been strongest is when buying players who fit their style of play and not the marketing strategy. In the early days of Roman Abramovich's reign, it was by signing players who became stars at Stamford Bridge when the club got the best value for money.

Didier Drogba wasn't exactly fancied at £24 million when Mourinho brought him to west London from Olympique de Marseille in 2004. That money was seen as a gamble, but the Portuguese knew what he was buying; it wasn't a star, it was a player who fitted his system perfectly.

It was the same with the likes of Claude Makelele and Michael Essien. Even before Abramovich's arrival, the signing of Frank Lampard from West Ham United in 2001 didn't reflect the marquee status he would later earn in his Chelsea career.

Compared with the major flops Chelsea have endured in the past—they paid a combined £80 million for Fernando Torres and Andriy Shevchenko—the Blues have been best served with what they need, not what image dictates they want.

Benteke isn't a name that immediately strikes fear at Europe's elite. His reputation after a poor debut campaign at Liverpool has taken a considerable knock, with his international team-mate, Romelu Lukaku, being seen as the bigger star these days.

That all may be true, but so is the fact that Benteke is the sort of player Chelsea need. If Conte is going to implement his trusted system of playing two strikers at Stamford Bridge, he needs a player who can complement the vast talents of Costa. It's where Benteke comes into the picture.

The Belgian has shown himself to be a real handful for defences in his four years in the Premier League. At Aston Villa, he scored 43 Premier League goals in 89 appearances—an average just shy of a goal every other game. That was for a side struggling in the wrong half of the table.

It hasn't worked out at Liverpool, mainly due to the fact his attributes don't suit what the Reds are trying to implement. Former Anfield manager Brendan Rodgers—who brought him to Merseyside—has focused his style on passing transitions through opponents, with the use of wingers in a traditional sense not part of his structure.

Klopp has evolved that somewhat, but the system is still designed for more skilful and adept players such as Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino to flourish. It doesn't play to Benteke's strengths.

The expectation is that Conte's Chelsea will, especially if we take Italy's recent 2-0 win over Belgium at Euro 2016 into account.

For all of Belgium's shortcomings in Lyon, Italy's display was about power and discipline. The Azzurri were well-drilled, and despite being a team of unfancied names, they fitted the system Conte wanted to play and overpowered their opponents.

With the more skilful Eder alongside him, Graziano Pelle was the outlet Italy needed. He gave them an aerial presence and worked the centre-backs tirelessly. The Southampton man was well worth his stoppage-time goal.

Applying the same principles to Chelsea isn't going to be as simple for Conte. He's inheriting different players at Stamford Bridge—more talented players in some instances when we consider Eden Hazard's presence—so things will have to be tweaked to suit the Premier League.

The principles remain the same, however. Conte needs a strike partnership that will be complete with players who offer different qualities.

Benteke isn't going to drop deep to get possession and run at defenders; he's not going to sit on the shoulder of the last man and attempt to get in behind. He doesn't have to, as that's Costa's job.

What a player of Benteke's ability will offer is a different kind of threat. He can be a physical nuisance when he has to be and will allow Costa to play off him. When Chelsea deploy wingers, the Belgian will be the target man, using every part of that 6'3" frame to good effect.

He's not in the same bracket as Drogba, but Benteke can be that sort of figure to Chelsea up front.

The Blues don't need stars this summer. They've made that mistake before, and it's contributed to where they find themselves now. What Conte needs is players with presence and an ability to implement his ideas on the pitch.

Benteke isn't marquee by any stretch, but he is what Chelsea need.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.