Liverpool have given permission for striker Fernando Torres to hold talks with Chelsea after the clubs agreed a fee for a possible transfer.
A reported fee of £50m would make the Spaniard the most expensive footballer in Britain, beating Carlos Tevez's £47m move to Manchester City in 2009.
The Reds had already rejected a £35m bid from Chelsea after Torres' transfer request was turned down on Friday.
Newcastle's Andy Carroll is in talks with Liverpool over a proposed move.
A statement on the Liverpool website read: "Liverpool Football Club tonight confirmed they have agreed a fee with Chelsea for the sale of Fernando Torres.
"The player has now been given permission to speak to the London club."
After agreeing a fee for Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Ajax for £23m on Sunday and with negotiations to bring in Carroll from Newcastle set to begin, it appears Reds boss Kenny Dalglish and the club's owners have reluctantly accepted to cash in on their prize asset.
Dalglish said earlier on Monday: "Movement is part and parcel of football but the most important people at Liverpool Football Club are the ones who want to be here."
Liverpool had been angered by the timing of Torres' transfer request last week and believe the London club "tapped up" the player by encouraging him to express a desire to leave.
Torres has a £50m release clause in his contract, but this only entitles him to leave if the Merseysiders fail to qualify for the Champions League this season. They are currently in seventh position and nine points off the fourth and last qualifying spot.
Torres, who signed a six-year contract when he joined the Reds for £20m in 2007 from Atletico Madrid, had been linked with Chelsea before.
The west Londoners were reported to be interested in luring the Spaniard from Anfield in the summer of 2008 and made a bid in May 2010, but after helping Spain win the World Cup in June, Torres pledged his future to Liverpool.