Liverpool want Christian Benteke to become the seventh acquisition of their summer spending spree, but will step up their pursuit of the forward only if Aston Villa are willing to compromise on their £32.5 million asking price.

Nathaniel Clyne will become Liverpool’s sixth pre-season signing when he returns from holiday next week to complete a £12.5 million move from Southampton.

That, though, will not be the end of the Merseyside club’s spending, with Benteke their prime target to strengthen Brendan Rodgers’s attacking options.

The stumbling block remains how much it would cost Liverpool to prise Benteke from Villa, who want the full £32.5 million fee contained in the exit clause within the Belgium striker’s contract.

That amount has proved a deterrent to Liverpool, but despite