Anfield club confident of landing Villa man.
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Liverpool are ready to throw their hat into the ring in the race for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke according to The Daily Star.
The Belgian youngster rocked the Midlands club on Monday after handing in a transfer request. That has thrown Villa manager Paul Lambert’s pre-season plans into turmoil with the former Norwich boss having hoped to build a team around Benteke.
Such was his faith in the powerhouse forward, he dropped the club’s record signing Darren Bent from the first team and has been preparing to sell him on.
But it now appears that Lambert will have to face up to the prospect of losing Benteke after the striker revealed his intentions to leave the club.
There are likely to be no shortage of suitors for Benteke, with Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea known to be interest in his services.
But Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is confident of beating off the competition and bringing the forward to Anfield.
Rodgers has cash to spare after he missed out on the £25 million signing of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenia captain looks set to join Borussia Dortmund, freeing up the cash for Rodgers to spend elsewhere.
He is reportedly ready to use the full amount in the hopes of tempting Benteke to reject the temptations of London and help Rodgers build a side capable of qualifying for the Champions League.