Liverpool are joining the scramble for wantaway Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke. The Daily Star says Liverpool were poised to splash out £25m on Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan but that deal fell through after he agreed a switch to Borussia Dortmund.

Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City are also interested in Benteke but Brendan Rodgers could be set to swoop first.

Benteke impressed Rodgers firsthand last season, bagging two in a 3-1 win at Liverpool in December.