Daniel Agger is believed to be close to signing a new long-term contract with Liverpool. The Danish central defender has been involved in a lengthy saga over his future, and it was feared he was waiting to buy himself out of the final year of his contract.

He has been linked with AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona in recent months with talks seemingly at a stalemate with Liverpool.

It had been thought that Agger wanted a wage rise from £50,000 a week to £70,000.

However, Per Steffensen, his agent, has recently met with Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, and it is thought that a deal is now on the table that suits both player and club.

Benitez said: "These conversations have gone really well and we are very close. Maybe we will soon have a solution."

Liverpool recently agreed new deals with Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt while verbal agreements have been made with youngsters Nathan Ecclestone, Peter Gulacsi, Krisztian Nemeth and Nabil El Zhar.