http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...all.html?in_article_id=465018&in_page_id=1779 Benitez closes on top target Torres for £24m By JOHN EDWARDS - More by this author » Last updated at 22:49pm on 28th June 2007 Rafa Benitez is on the verge of smashing Liverpool's transfer record, closing in on a £24million deal for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres. The 23-year-old golden boy of Spanish football looks to be heading for the Premiership for £20m plus Liverpool's £4m-rated forward Luis Garcia. It is believed nothing has yet been signed and that Anfield officials are anxiously waiting for Atletico's under-fire president Enrique Cerezo to confirm crowd favourite Torres can leave. Atletico fans have protested against the sale but sources close to the club believe Cerezo is on the point of sanctioning the move. Torres has a £27m (740m) escape clause in his contract but Liverpool remained adamant in weeks of haggling that they would not meet it. Hopes of using Djibril Cisse — whose £14m transfer from Auxerre makes him Anfield's most expensive player — as a makeweight were dashed when the unsettled striker insisted he wanted to join Marseille. But the clubs found scope for a deal when Garcia said he would return to Spain, preferably with Atletico. Torres is on holiday until July 10 but could cut it short to complete a move that would hasten Craig Bellamy's exit.