Chelsea FC Transfer Rumours: Liverpool Will Let Fernando Torres Go For £50M

£50M is a lot of money. It's also the price Chelsea will have to pay to force Liverpool to sell their most prized asset, superstar striker Fernando Torres. The BBC is reporting that Liverpool will sell Torres should Chelsea submit a bid worth £50M+, and notes that an offer of £40M on the table plus forward Nicolas Anelka may get the job done:

Liverpool will sell striker Fernando Torres before the end of January - but only if Chelsea agree a £50m package, BBC Sport understands... Another option could be a £40m deal, with a world-class replacement - namely Nicolas Anelka - returning to Anfield.

The article also states that Liverpool are not actually interested in bringing 21 year-old striker Daniel Sturridge to Anfield, news that will reassure fans of the young forward. Chelsea had left Sturridge out of the squad to face Everton for Saturday's 1-1 draw, which had increased earlier speculation that he was to be involved in the club's next push to acquire Torres.

Chelsea's timing seems to have been brilliant here, but Liverpool's actions in making the bid public seems totally bizarre. By publicly rejecting the initial £35M offer from the Blues, Liverpool managed to spur Torres into handing in a transfer request, one it looks like they'll be forced to honour despite publicly (again) rejecting it. Fernando Torres looks like he's there for the taking - but only if Roman Abramovich ponies up enough cash to break the British transfer record. Despite the David Luiz talks breaking down, Monday is certainly going to be an interesting day for Chelsea fans.

The ball's in your court, Roman.