Christian Benteke could be a Liverpool player by the end of next week, but isn’t expected to complete his move in time to join up with his new teammates on the Reds’ pre-season tour of the Far East.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have two games remaining – against Adelaide United on Monday and a Malaysian XI four days later – before returning to Europe for a game against Finnish side HJK on August 1st, which will likely be pencilled in as our new man’s debut date.
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According to Sky Sports, talks are ongoing between the Reds and Benteke’s current side – Aston Villa – after we met the player’s £32.5m buyout clause earlier this week.
They state that no agreement has yet been reached over the finer details, although the Daily Star believe a medical will be held on Monday if these details can be ironed out this weekend.
Benteke, who has two years remaining on his Villa contract, has scored 49 goals in 101 appearances for the club since he joined from Genk in 2012. He is set to become our seventh summer signing, following the deals for James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne.