Aston Villa have warned Liverpool not to mess them around regarding Christian Benteke's transfer.

The Daily Star says the striker has a £32.5m escape clause in his contract, a deal which still has two years to run, and Villa won't accept a penny less.

They don't want to sell the Belgium international and are determined to play hardball over the fee, even though his value could be halved 12 months down the line.

Villa boss Tim Sherwood said: "We want Christian here. We want to keep our best players and Christian is certainly one of those."

And he has the backing of club owner Randy Lerner despite the fact that he is close to selling the club.