Joe Cole has compared his Aston Villa teammate Christian Benteke to Didier Drogba and Peter Crouch.

Cole played alongside Drogba at Chelsea and also linked up with Stoke City frontman Crouch on international duty with England.

Speaking about the qualities that Benteke possesses, Cole believes that the Belgium international has aspects of both Drogba and Crouch within his armoury.

"I can see a bit of Didier in him - he's very strong and powerful. He possesses those qualities in abundance," he told the club's official website.

"I can also see that he likes the ball to feet and he is elegant with the ball, despite his height, which reminds me of Crouchy. He's a mixture of both really. There are a lot of qualities in his game."

Benteke recently returned to action following a lengthy layoff with an Achilles injury.