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 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 a week.

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

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

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