Tim Sherwood has called on Christian Benteke to come clean about his future as he told Aston Villa to offer the striker a new contract and urged his top scorer to sign it.
Benteke, who managed 12 goals in the FA Cup finalist's last 13 games of the season, has a £32.5-million release clause in his current deal, which Liverpool are expected to activate.
But Sherwood believes Benteke would be best served by staying at Villa Park and told the 24-year-old it is time to make his intentions known.
The Villa manager has already said that, if Benteke plays well next season, he could earn a move to Real Madrid.
And Sherwood said: "I will have a chat with him. I have told him already that I want him to stay at the club. I want him to have a good season and score at the same ratio as he did when I came in here. I'm not sure what his plans are, he didn't tell me either way. We just tried to get this game out the way.
"I think it is right to talk to him about the speculation and we need to be put it to bed. He needs to sign a new contract. We need to offer him a new contract, which the club are prepared to do, and he needs to sign it. When he does we know he's not going anywhere."
Sherwood is hoping England international Tom Cleverley will join Villa on a free transfer after spending the season on loan with them from Manchester United.
Everton are also interested in the midfielder and Sherwood said: "I have told him I want him to stay. We will have a chat with his representatives and see if we can get a deal done. I would have thought Tom would have had a few options. He's enjoyed his time here, I think he has flourished and it is up to him."
Sherwood is also keen to keep centre-back Ron Vlaar, who will be available on a free transfer when his contract expires this summer, saying: "I have told him I want him to stay so we will have a chat with him as well."
While owner Randy Lerner is trying to sell Villa, Sherwood is confident he has a reasonable transfer budget as he tries to improve his squad.
He explained: "We can spend if I can justify it to the owners. If they are good additions to the football club then I need to get to work."