Arsenal and Spurs Told Belgian Striker Will Cost in Excess of £30m – Report

Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal will have to be prepared to shatter their own transfer records if they wish to lure Christian Benteke away from Villa Park.

The north London clubs are widely reported to be keen on securing the services of the Aston Villa striker, who has struck 22 goals for the Villans in his maiden season in the Premier League.

Relegation threatened Villa paid Belgian side Genk just £7 million for Benteke last summer, but the Birmingham Mail reports that club chairman Randy Lerner and manager Paul Lambert are prepared to resist offers in the excess of £30 million to hold onto the sought after forward.

It is suggested that the Villa board will be under intense pressure from fans to not cash in on Benteke after the forward's marvellous debut campaign.

Lerner's ambition with the club has been called into question following the sales of James Milner, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing in recent years, but Villa will be desperate to hold on to the 22-year-old who has spearheaded their quest to stay in the Premier League this season.

Benteke recently outlined his desire to repay the faith shown in him by Lambert, who plucked him from relative obscurity last summer. This, coupled with reports of a new contract for the inform striker in the next few months, suggests that clubs may have a hard time convincing Benteke to leave the midlands this summer, even if they are able to meet Villas's valuation of the striker.

The former Genk forward further enhanced his reputation as one of the league's most fearsome strikers with a hat-trick in Villa's 6-1 win over Sunderland on Monday night. His performance not only saw him beat Dwight Yorke's record for goals in a single Premier League season, but reignited belief that the club can stave off relegation.

Benteke's teammate Fabian Delph trusts the powerful forward will still be at Villa Park next season, and has urged his manager to build his team around the club's prized asset.

"He is really happy here, " Delph said. "He is young and if we're building around players like him and can keep him, the future is going to look a lot better than it has done in the last few years."