Arsenal and Arsene Wenger will be considering making a move for Christian Benteke after the Belgian international handed in a transfer request at Aston Villa.
Benteke has been the subject of much speculation, with the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid linked with moves for the prolific 22-year-old.
Spurs are thought to be the club most interested in making a move for Benteke and now pretty much any interested club can put in an offer after Villa confirmed Benteke had asked to be sold this summer.
Villa insisted the 22-year-old had not travelled with the rest of the side for their preseason trip to Germany because of the transfer request, while admitting they would consider a sale if they receive an appropriate offer soon.
"In response to reports that Christian Benteke has not travelled to Germany (for preseason) with the club and has made a transfer request, we can confirm that both are accurate," the club said in a statement.
"For clarity's sake, however, he had already been given extra time off until July 18 and was reminded that there are three years remaining on his contract.
"We consider him to be a Villa player and expect that he will be with us for the 2013-14 season.
"Having received his transfer request, we have also informed him that should we receive an offer within an appropriate timeframe during preseason which meets our valuation we would act upon it.
"But he will remain a Villa player should this not happen."
Benteke scored 19 league goals for Villa last season after making a £7 million move from Genk, and is desperate to make a move to a bigger club to seal a place in the increasingly competitive Belgium squad ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
"While we're hugely disappointed that Christian has put in a transfer request, it's important that people appreciate we are trying to build something strong and vibrant here at the club, something this club demands and stands for, and we want Christian to be part of that," Villa manager Paul Lambert said.
Arsenal are thought to have their attentions turned on Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid at the moment, but with the move for the Argentine proving to be tougher than imagined, Wenger might look towards Benteke.
The Gunners have plenty of money to spend and Wenger will not be fazed by Villa's demands of somewhere around £25 million ($37 million) for the striker.
While Higuain might have loads of experience at the highest level, Benteke has already proven himself in the Premier League and will take little time to settle in at Arsenal, a club he has previously professed his love for.
