LONDON: Spain international striker Fernando Torres is set to join Chelsea after Liverpool caved in to accept an incredible offer in the region of £50 million (Rm245.1m).

Torres will now join the champions after they smashed the British transfer record.

Liverpool already agreed to a stunning £35 million deal to buy Newcastle's Andy Carroll as a replacement.

El Nino will be handed a whopping £45 million package at Stamford Bridge with the five-year deal earning him £175,000 a week, reported Daily Mail.

The Spaniard, whose £110,000-a-week deal at Liverpool runs until the summer of 2013, handed in an official transfer request at the end of last week, and the two clubs had been in negotiations over the weekend.

Liverpool, who paid £21 million for Torres from Atletico Madrid in July 2007, were tempted to hang on to the striker and let the transfer window close without a deal.

However, they feared being left with a disillusioned star who would rather be at another club could be the worst of all worlds.

The feeling among some players in the Liverpool dressing-room is the same, with several teammates thinking that if Torres does not want to be at the club then he should be allowed to leave.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were also understood to have agreed a fee with Benfica for defender David Luiz.

He was reportedly on a plane to London to complete his move before the transfer dateline (7am today, Malaysian time).

The Blues had been chasing the 23-year-old Brazilian for much of the January transfer window but were unable to match Benfica's valuation.

It is, however, understood that the Portuguese giants relaxed their stance and were prepared to do business.

Reports suggested an initial £21 million deal has been sanctioned, with Chelsea set to pay £17 million of that fee upfront.

Chelsea were also willing to part with Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic as part of the agreement.

Luiz was believed to be in England to talk personal terms with Chelsea.

LONDON: English champions Chelsea announced this morning a total loss of £70.9 million (RM347.6m) for the financial year ending June 30, 2010, but insisted they were in a "strong position" to meet Uefa's new financial fair play rules.

The west London club, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, said their operating loss had reduced from £72.3 million to £68.6 million as they try to come into line with proposals put forward by Uefa, European football's governing body, designed to prevent clubs spending beyond their real means.

Chelsea were also heartened by a "positive cash inflow" of £3.8 milion compared to a net outflow of £16.9 million in the previous year.

"The reduction in operating losses and increased sales in 2009-10 shows that we are moving in the right direction, especially when viewed against the difficult macroeconomic environment," said Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay.

"The club is in a strong position to meet the challenges of Uefa Financial Fair Play initiatives which will be relevant to the financial statements to be released in early 2013."

Blues chairman Bruce Buck said: "That the club was cash generative in the year when we recorded a historic FAPL (Premier League) and FA Cup double is a great encouragement and demonstrates significant progress as regards our financial results."

Chelsea's statement came on the final day of the January transfer window when the Stamford Bridge club were linked with a move for want-away Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

Chelsea are currently fourth in the Premier League table, 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.