Liverpool are willing to offer Rickie Lambert to Aston Villa in their deal to sign Christian Benteke, according to Daily Mirror.
The Reds interest in Villa frontman Benteke has developed at a rapid pace over the past week, seeing club officials to agree on a deal worth £30m to be submitted for the Belgian striker.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is under increasing pressure after a poor season, which ended with a 6-1 defeat to Stoke City at the Britannia stadium on Sunday and he is keen to bolster his attacking options after both Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert failed to bring goals this season.
The latter of which is expected to be used as a softener in Liverpool’s first bid for Benteke, hoping that Villa boss Tim Sherwood will be happy to sign the former Southampton striker.
Newly promoted Bournemouth have also been linked and a move back down south could be more favourable for the capped England striker.
Benteke has struggled this season with injuries but has since returned to fire Villa to an FA Cup final, where they will meet Arsenal later this month.