Christian Benteke is expected to have a medical at Liverpool on Monday after the club agreed terms for the £32.5m transfer of the Aston Villa striker.

Liverpool activated the Belgian’s release clause on Friday but the deal could proceed no further until a payment plan was agreed between their chief executive, Ian Ayre, and his opposite number at Villa, Tom Fox.

The structure of the deal, believed to involve Liverpool paying £16m up front, has been settled and Benteke is free to complete a move that would make him Brendan Rodgers’ seventh signing of the close season.

The Liverpool club doctor, Andy Massey, has flown back from the current leg of the club’s tour, in Adelaide, to conduct Benteke’s medical in London. Assuming there are no hitches, Benteke will be a Liverpool player this week but will not join his new team-mates for the final stage of their tour, in which they play a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

It is hoped that he will join Roberto Firmino, whose £29m arrival from Hoffenheim will become Liverpool’s second-most expensive deal of the summer, in beginning pre-season training at their Melwood training ground on Wednesday.

Benteke scored 15 goals in 34 appearances for Villa last season, including the equaliser in their FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool. He made his comeback in October after a six-month absence with a ruptured achilles, and was particularly instrumental in Villa’s late-season revival under their manager, Tim Sherwood. The striker’s three seasons at Villa Park, since joining as a relatively unheralded 22-year-old from Genk, brought 49 goals from 101 games.

Now 24, Benteke is approaching his peak years but is also a player Rodgers will feel he can improve. Liverpool have lacked a consistent presence in attack since the departure of Luis Suárez last summer, with Daniel Sturridge sidelined by injury for long periods and Mario Balotelli failing to convince since his arrival from Milan.

Benteke’s departure will be a big blow to Villa, who also lost Fabian Delph to Manchester City last week. Sherwood would like to sign the Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor as a direct replacement.