Liverpool transfer news: Christian Benteke 'agrees personal terms with Crystal Palace'

Liverpool striker Christian Benteke has reportedly agreed personal terms with Crystal Palace ahead of a prospective move to the south London club. The 25-year-old Belgian joined the Reds last year in a £32.5m ($41.8m) deal, but has failed to sparkle on Merseyside.

Benteke was frequently consigned to the bench last season under Jurgen Klopp and is reportedly desperate to complete his move to Selhurst Park. The two Premier League clubs are still to finalise a transfer fee for his move, with Liverpool intent on recouping the money they paid Aston Villa for Benteke in 2015.

However, all three parties are optimistic that a deal will be struck in the near future, according to The Mirror, meaning the Liverpool striker could soon become the highest-earning player in Palace's history. Benteke will compete with Connor Wickham for the striker role for the Eagles, although they could also appear together as part of a two-man forward line.

The report comes shortly after the Liverpool manager admitted he is keen to trim his squad for the 2016/17 season. Klopp said the number of players available for selection is "too much", adding that he needs to offload squad members before the transfer window shuts.

"All the players who came back from loans are in the squad for the moment, but we have to see. My job is to give them the best training that I can, and at the end we have to make decisions. We have 38 players at the moment, and that is 100% too much!" the Liverpool boss said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

"We have to take some decisions, but you can be sure that if a team takes a player from us, they will have had two or three weeks of really hard and intensive training in their legs, and are as fit as they possibly can be."