Charlie Adam set for £9m Liverpool move

Dalglish twice tried to sign the Scotland international in January only to have an offer of 6.5 million rejected as the Seasiders successfully held on to their prized asset. It was hoped keeping Adam would help safeguard their Barclays Premier League future but when relegation came in May the 25-year-old former Rangers player, with only 12 months left on his contract, told the club Anfield was his preferred destination this summer.

After several weeks of negotiations both parties have settled on an acceptable valuation - Blackpool were reportedly holding out for 9 million - and the player just has to pass his medical.

Having already expressed his preference for Liverpool personal terms are unlikely to be a stumbling block on the deal. As part of the agreement Blackpool are likely to receive at least one fringe player from Anfield.

A 9 million move would make Adam the most expensive Scottish player alongside goalkeeper Craig Gordon (Hearts to Sunderland) and defender Alan Hutton (Rangers to Tottenham), who also made 9 million moves to the English Premier League.

Adam came through the youth set-up at Ibrox but, after loan spells at Ross County, St Mirren and Blackpool, he left Rangers for a permanent move to Bloomfield Road in a 500,000 deal. Adam went on to make 75 league appearances for Blackpool, scoring 28 goals and becoming the team's captain.

The Scot will be Dalglish's second signing of the summer to strengthen an area of Liverpool squad - central midfield - which was already overcrowded following Jordan Henderson's 16 million move from Sunderland.

The likes of Alberto Aquilani, who spent last season on loan at Juventus only for the Serie A club to reject the option of signing him permanently, and Christian Poulsen, a fringe figure since Dalglish took charge in January, appear the most vulnerable in any squad cull with forward Milan Jovanovic also on his way out after a disappointing debut season.

Where Dalglish needs to strengthen now is down the left-hand side, in particular, with Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing now a primary target.

Meanwhile, Glen Johnson has signed a contract extension, the club confirmed yesterday.

The England international, who moved from Portsmouth two years ago, has agreed a deal which commits him to Anfield "for the long term".

Johnson endured a difficult start to last season and, after becoming injured, lost his place at right-back to youngster Martin Kelly midway through the campaign only to come back and excel on the left of defence under Kenny Dalglish after he took over from Roy Hodgson in January.

"We are absolutely delighted.We were in talks for a few weeks but it was easy to find an agreement because he wanted to stay and we wanted him to stay," said director of football Damien Comolli. We are very pleased he wants to commit long term and I think he was pleased we went to him and asked him to commit long term."

The 26-year-old has made 70 appearances for the Reds but Comolli believes the defender has not yet reached his prime.

"His best years are to come. Very often defenders peak between 26 and 31, so he is just entering into those years where a maturity comes in and his knowledge of the game gets better and better," he added.

"It's obvious when you watch him play his technical ability is second to none.

"Towards the end of last season he showed how versatile he is by playing at left-back or right-back - mostly at left-back - and was outstanding.

"For us he is a great asset to have around. As we've always said, we don't want to sell our best players or sell our assets and as long as the players are happy to be here, we're happy to commit to them."