Tim Sherwood had urged Aston Villa hitman Christian Benteke to stay at Villa Park, according to Sky Sports.
The Villa boss has told his star striker to follow in the footsteps of Fabian Delph and pledge his future to the Villans. Delph somewhat surprisingly signed a new four-year deal in January, and Sherwood would love Benteke to do the same.
The Aston Villa manager told Sky Sports; “This club might be a lot different (next season). I can’t think of too many footballers who would have signed a four-year deal like Fabian Delph did when he could have gone to the top four.
“Maybe Aston Villa is a club they want to show loyalty to. Let’s hope they all follow suit. But I believe even if we didn’t make a signing we wouldn’t be in this position again.”
Benteke has been in red-hot form since Sherwood’s arrival – his two goals against Everton on Saturday took his season tally up to 14.