Benjani looking to reignite career
Blackburn Rovers striker Benjani says he is looking to reignite his career at the club having spent frustrating spells at numerous Premier League clubs.
Benjani has played for Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland during his time in England but has never been able to have the impact at any of these clubs that he would have hoped.
The Zimbabwean says he jumped at the chance to play for Blackburn because he believes that Sam Allardyce has the ability to help him find his best game and his best form at his new club.
Benjani has a number of attributes that will ensure he is one of the top strikers at Blackburn. However, he will have to adapt his style because Allardyce doesn't always play the most attractive football.
Number of attributes
Blackburn has a very lethal player in front of goal on the books. Although Benjani has not had a long run at any Premier League club, he has always shown that he has a killer instinct in front of goal and doesn't seem to panic under pressure.
He always says the right things and this will help him settle down at the club. It can be easy for a new player at a club to say the wrong thing and this results in early friction between coaches and fellow players.
Benjani can be versatile and this is a huge asset for Blackburn. He can play in attack by himself and hold the ball up to bring others into the play. He can also play with another striker and drop down into an attacking midfield position.
He said: "You need to work hard and repay any team that gives you an opportunity. I am no different and I want to make sure Sam Allardyce doesn't regret giving me my chance. I'm happy to be here and I will try and fight hard. It is not going to be easy to break into the team because there are some players who are playing really well at the moment. It's going to be hard for me."
Basic style
It is no secret at all that Allardyce does not get his football teams playing the most attractive football in the world. He relies more on the physical side of the game and scoring a lot of goals from set pieces.
This means Benjani will have to change his basic style so he is better in the air as opposed to only being comfortable with the ball at his feet. Blackburn is in the middle of a transitional period at the moment and it's important Benjani changes any way he can to have an impact.
He added: "I am here at Blackburn because they approached me and they were the only club who wanted me. I wanted to stay in the Premier League so I came here. My plan B was to move away from here. I had a couple of clubs who were interested but not here in England."
Betting advice
There are a couple of players ahead of Benjani in the pecking order so don't have a punt on him being top scorer at Blackburn just yet. Mame Biram Diouf and El Hadji Diouf are the two players that hold the attacking positions for Blackburn at the moment and it seems to be working for the club.
Wait until Benjani starts a game for the club. Back him to score at any point during that game because Blackburn work hard and will do what they can to make sure the striker has a number of opportunities to put his new team ahead.
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