Liverpool FC have officially completed the transfer of Christian Benteke, after exercising the £32.5 million release clause in his contract at Aston Villa.

The Belgian international, who now becomes the second-most expensive signing in the club's history, successfully completed a medical with club doctor Andy Massey in London on Tuesday after flying back from Villa's pre-season tour of Portugal.

Benteke put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal on Merseyside on Wednesday evening, which will reportedly see the striker paid around £140,000-a-week.

He was expected to train at Melwood for the first time earlier in the day - with the rest of the Reds' first-team in Kuala Lumpur for the final leg of their tour of the Far East and Australia - but administrative issues delayed the deal by a few hours. 

Having scored 49 goals in 101 games for Villa since joining from Genk in 2012, Benteke is seen as the ideal striker to strengthen the Reds' attack given his abundant experience of English football.

The 24-year-old is the Reds' seventh signing of the summer, following James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne - but is expected to now be the last addition, as they start to look towards the start of their Premier League campaign next month.

The deal takes the Reds' spending near to the £80 million mark, though they have also seen several departures, with Raheem Sterling having left for Manchester City in a £49 million move earlier this month.

Belgian always seen as Rodgers' prime target

Benteke, who was believed to have had his heart set on moving to Anfield, has been linked with a move to Liverpool since the end of last season, with Brendan Rodgers known to be a long-term admirer of the striker.

His spectacular performance in Aston Villa's 2-1 defeat of the Reds in the FA Cup semi-final only further endeared Benteke to the Northern Irishman, however - the two clubs had differing valuations of the player, which delayed the deal.

Villa were adamant they would not let the fan favourite go for any less than his release clause, whilst Liverpool were hoping to tempt the Midlands club into doing business for around £20-25 million.

But Tim Sherwood's side stayed strong and held out for the clause, with Benteke still having two years left on his existing deal at Villa Park after helping them stave off relegation with 12 goals in the final 12 games of last season.

Things moved closer after Sterling's sale pocketed Liverpool a handsome £39.2 million, before Manchester United suddenly became linked with the striker.

With no other clear alternatives, Liverpool were spooked into finally giving in to Villa's demands - after which United's interest was discovered to be fictitious.

Benteke's arrival likely to mean more Liverpool departures

After negotiations between Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre and Villa counterpart Tom Fox, Benteke's transfer fee is expected to be paid as £16 million up-front, with the rest in structured instalments.

The signing is portrayed as yet another show of support from club owners Fenway Sports Group to Rodgers, after an end-of-season review concluded that the manager needed to re-shape his backroom staff.

The Liverpool manager severely needs Benteke to hit the ground running, after a disappointing sixth-placed finish last season saw his standing amongst the club's supporters strained, added to the fact that Daniel Sturridge will sit the initial few months of the season out through injury.

Benteke's arrival is likely to see Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Mario Balotelli move closer towards the exit door - whilst Aston Villa are believed to have lined up Emmanuel Adebayor as their first-choice replacement.