Liverpool sources have insisted that there is no conflict over wages with the 23-year-old Atletico Madrid star, as had been claimed, and he has verbally accepted around £90,000 a week.

That will put him on a par with Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso, but short of Steven Gerrard's £120,000-a-week new contract.

Liverpool are so confident that Torres will now complete his signing when he returns from holiday that they have let Luis Garcia join Atletico for around £4million.

The two deals are not officially linked but Liverpool will now see their agreed fee of £26.5m for Torres cut to £21.5m now Luis Garcia has returned to a club he spent a season with earlier in his career.