Leandro Bacuna desperate for Christian Benteke stay

Leandro Bacuna has urged in-form Aston Villa teammate Christian Benteke to stay at the club beyond this summer.

The Belgian striker has enjoyed a new lease of life at Villa Park in recent months after scoring 12 times in as many games to emerge as a reported target for Liverpool.

However, Bacuna, a former neighbour of Benteke, warns his friend that he may not be the "big man" that he currently is with the Villans if he opts to leave.

"We had a small conversation and I said 'imagine you want to leave for a big club'. At Villa he's the big man," he told reporters.

"Maybe if he goes somewhere else you are not going to turn into a big man. So it's going to be his opinion. Yes [I am trying to persuade him to stay]."

The 24-year-old, who is expected to lead the attack against Arsenal in Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley, is contracted to the West Midlands club until 2017.