LIVERPOOL’S long pursuit of Ajax forward Luis Suarez is finally over after they agreed a deal worth up to £22.8m with the Dutch club.

The 24-year-old has yet to pass a medical and agree personal terms but those two issues are unlikely to be stumbling blocks.

Having argued over the Uruguay international’s value for some time, Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group have sanctioned their first major signing since buying the club in October.

The deal is a real statement of intent and will go a long way to proving to the club’s major stars that they are serious about restoring Liverpool to Europe’s elite.

The club yesterday revealed they had turned down a bid of £35m for Fernando Torres from Chelsea.

However, Liverpool confirmed last night that Torres has had a transfer request rejected.

The most the 26-year-old has ever said publicly about his future is in calling for the club to prove to him his longterm future lies at Anfield by bringing in better players.

Even when speculation about an imminent bid from Chelsea was circulating when Torres returned to Merseyside in the summer as a World Cup winner, the Spain international was happy to stress his commitment to the club.

Suarez’s arrival is a key moment in FSG’s short threemonth reign.

Much had been made of their approach to transfers, with the long-term plan being to bring in players who represent greater value.

However, last week chairman Tom Werner admitted they would be prepared to spend heavily if it benefited the club’s long-term interest.

At 24, Suarez fits the profile of the type of player they have in mind, and he has been prolific in the Eredivisie, scoring 111 goals in 159 matches since joining the Dutch club in the summer of 2007.

Signing Suarez would bring about the prospect of him coming face-to-face with Sunderland’s Asamoah Gyan, when the Reds travel to the North-East in March, for the first time since last summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Suarez infamously used a hand to deprive Ghana a late winner in the quarter-finals, the striker then celebrating on the touchline when Gyan missed the resulting penalty.