3. Christian Benteke
The young Belgian has just enjoyed a remarkable debut season in the Premier League following last summer's switch from Genk and finished the campaign as the division's fourth-highest goalscorer with 19 goals, just two behind Gareth Bale in third place. As such he has popped up on the radar of a string of top clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs. Villa will desperately try to keep hold of their top goalscorer if any suitors come calling over the summer but the striker himself recently claimed
he will leave if a "top club" want him. He said back in May:
"If Aston Villa say I must stay, I won't necessarily accept that. I do not in any way want to feel I didn't get the most out of my career. I try to get everything."
The 22-year-old has big ambitions to play for his country at next summer's World Cup and considering Villa endured a dreadful season last term in which they were almost relegated, a move to a "bigger" club could improve his chances on the internationals scene. Yet he remarked:
"Of course playing the World Cup in Rio is in my head. But I have no fear of falling out of the team. There is no point in me getting into a tug-of-war with Villa. "If the chance comes up for me to join a club like Arsenal, I'm convinced we can reach a compromise where everyone comes out a winner."
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku meanwhile, who has just spent a season on loan at West Brom where he scored an impressive 17 goals, has tried to persuade his fellow countryman to move to Stamford Bridge by
urging him to join a "big club". He put in:
"I think, I hope Christian will make a move to a big club so he can improve his game as well.
Whether or not that "big club" is Chelsea remains to be seen but for now Benteke remains a realistic summer target.