Tim Sherwood questions Liverpool's pursuit of Christian Benteke

Perhaps Tim Sherwood forgot about Daniel Sturridge's failure to remain healthy or Mario Balotelli's dreadful first season at Anfield before questioning Liverpool's need for another striker such as Aston Villa star Christian Benteke.

The Villa boss, perhaps in a last ditch effort to fend off competition for Benteke's services, admitted he finds it a bit odd the Merseyside club would even be in the market for another striker.

"I looked the other day. I think they've got six or seven strikers at the club now. I'm not sure how many they actually need," Sherwood told reporters.

An obstacle that might prevent Liverpool from pursuing Benteke, however, is the hefty minimum fee release clause in the Belgian international's contract, which will cost teams £32.5 million to lure him away from Aston Villa.

"We know Christian is a very good player and we want to keep hold of him. If someone matches that buyout clause, there's nothing we can do about it. But until that happens he's an Aston Villa player and we're all very pleased about that.

"I think Christian is worth more than £32 million. But we don't want to sell him. We don't want the £32 million. It's very hard to spend that sort of money. When you're losing a player and trying to bring in someone to subsidise it, it's almost impossible."

While it's hard to justify spending that type of money on players outside the upper echelon of elite footballers, Benteke's rapid scoring pace at the end of the season - where he scored 12 goals in 12 games - could see a team such as Liverpool back up the Brink's truck in front of Villa Park.