Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has hailed praise on new summer signing Rudy Gestede’s heading ability, according to reports from the Daily Star.

Gestede joined Villa from Blackburn Rovers after the two clubs agreed on a £6million fee last week as a direct replacement for Christian Benteke, who left for Liverpool.

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And Sherwood insists that the Benin international striker is able to fill in for the £32.5million Belgian, praising his heading as the best he has seen in the English game.

He said: "Rudy has a lot of qualities but one outstanding one and that's his aerial presence, which is immense.

"It's better than anything I have seen around in English football. He terrorises defenders in the air.

"With respect to the central defenders in the Championship, they are there because there's a great aerial presence in that division.

"So if he can do that to them, I am sure he can do it to the guys in the Premier League. His goalscoring record is terrific too."

The former Tottenham Hotspur interim manager went on to add that the £6million the Midlands club paid for the 26-year-old is a snip when compared to Blackburn’s £11million asking price for his strike-partner Jordan Rhodes.

"Everyone talks about Jordan Rhodes and absolutely right because he scores goals, but Rudy outscored him last season," he continued.

"They're talking about £11m upwards for Jordan. We think we have a bargain with Rudy. Also, he's a great guy and wants to develop and learn."

Villa have been extremely active in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Jordan Ayew from Lorient, Jordan Amavi from Nice, and Micah Richards from Fiorentina this summer.

Gestede made 44 appearances for Blackburn in all competitions last season, scoring 22 goals.