TheCable

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Aston Villa over the £32.5m transfer of striker Christian Benteke.

The Reds met the release clause of the Belgian striker at the end of last week and agreed the structure of the payment with the Midlanders over the weekend.

Liverpool’s club doctor will now travel to England from the team’s tour of Australia to complete Benteke’s medical in the next 48 hours.

The 24-year-old, though, will not be joining his new team-mates for the remainder of their tour, with the squad due to fly to Kuala Lumpur for a match against a Malaysia XI on Friday after Monday’s friendly against Adelaide United.

Benteke, who signed from Genk for £7 million in August 2012, scored 49 goals in 101 appearances for Villa.

He will become the second high-profile departure from Villa Park inside a week after captain Fabian Delph’s U-turn to sign for Manchester City.