Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has urged Christian Benteke to sign a new contract.

The Belgian striker is being heavily linked with a summer move to Liverpool but Sherwood is desperate for him to commit to his current club.

"I will have a chat with him," Sherwood said. "I have told him I want him to stay.

"I want him to have a good season and score at the same ratio as he did when I came in here. I'm not sure what his plans are, he didn't tell me either way.

"But I think it is right to talk to him about the speculation and put it to bed. We need to offer him a new contract, which the club are prepared to do, and he needs to sign it. When he does we know he's not going anywhere."