Signing Chrisitan Benteke last summer was probably the best piece of business Aston Villa have done in a very long time, but holding on to the striker is proving to be difficult, with Liverpool being the next team mentioned with a potential approach for the player.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that Luis Suarez just might be on his way out of the club to Real Madrid, or possibly the four month injury that Daniel Sturridge sustained, keeping him off the football pitch until late September at least. Or maybe it’s just a need to have more than two strikers on the team – a depth that was sorely missing at times last season for Liverpool.

Villa? They do not want to part ways with Benteke, who cost them £7 million, coming from Genk at the beginning of last season, finishing the season with 19 goals in 34 Premier League matches, immediately drawing comparisons to Didier Drogba and other powerful strikers. He also scored against Liverpool at Anfield in a stunning 3-1 victory for Villa, who spent most of last season worrying about relegation.

Benteke has hinted at his desire to find himself on a bigger club than Villa, with aspirations that are greater than just staying in the league and surviving financially. He’s currently on international duty with the Belgian national team (so far scoring 6 times in 14 appearances), but once he returns his negotiations with the club regarding his future will resume.

Liverpool aren’t alone in the hunt for Benteke. According to rumors, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund are all hoping to get their hands on the 22-year old, who will probably cost around £20 million to draw away from Villa Park.

This transfer makes sense for Liverpool in terms of price and in general only if Suarez is indeed leaving. Signing a striker for more than half of your transfer budget when you’re already set on two starters sounds like a bad piece of business, something the Reds are trying to avoid after consecutive seasons of not making the wisest decisions in the transfer market.

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