http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8876510.stmBBC Sports News Correspondent
Liverpool could be bought by a Chinese business tycoon within days, according to a source close to the deal.
Kenny Huang, head of Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports Ltd, wants to take full control of the Reds, who have been up for sale since April.
"A deal has to be done before the transfer window closes [on 31 August]," a source close to Huang told BBC Sport.
"Huang has made a firm proposal. The club's board has to sanction the sale and it could be sewn up in days."
Huang has been talking for several weeks to representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland, with the aim of taking full control of the Premier League club.
RBS are Liverpool's main creditors, owed about £237m by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
"Kenny is the only serious bidder interested in the club and he's optimistic," added the source.
Huang is offering to clear Liverpool's debt to RBS, and give new manager Roy Hodgson funds to do business in the transfer window.
However, he wants the deal to be completed within two weeks to allow Hodgson time to strengthen the squad before the transfer deadline at the end of August. Any later and the deal is off.
The tycoon also plans to build the club a new stadium as soon as possible.Huang is a well-known figure in the Chinese sporting industry and particularly influential in basketball and baseball.
His QSL Sports Ltd company is a partner of America's Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team and he is also involved with the New York Yankees baseball outfit.
In 1988, he became the first Chinese college graduate from mainland China to work at the New York Stock Exchange.
Huang was reported to have turned down the chance to buy Liverpool in 2008 because he felt a valuation of £650m was too high. BBC Sport understands he now values the club at about £350m.
Hicks and Gillett bought the Reds in February 2007 in a deal that valued the club at £218.9m - £44.8m of which were club debts.
606: DEBATE
I just want this to be sorted out soon, so Roy can get a decent budget to buy players before the close of the window
LFCfan128
But the American duo have endured a difficult time at Anfield, with supporters regularly voicing their dissatisfaction at the level of debt taken on by the club after their buyout.
Last October, several hundred Liverpool fans staged a protest march against the owners ahead of their Premier League match against Manchester United.
The board's popularity with the fans disintegrated further when Hicks' son, Tom Hicks Jr, became embroiled in a row with a supporter who alleged the American had sent him abusive emails.
As a result, Hicks Jr resigned as a director of the club and parent company Kop Holdings, leading to a restructure of the board.
Gillett and Hicks have also endured a fractious relationship with each other, which early on in their reign threatened to undermine their ownership with the former revealing the partnership had become "unworkable".
In 2008, Hicks blocked Gillett's moves to sell his 50% share to Dubai International Capital group as the pair feuded over future plans for the club.
An outright £500m takeover bid by the DIC group was also rebuffed, with Hicks hinting he would attempt an outright takeover bid himself.
They subsequently patched up their differences but took the decision less than four months ago to put the club up for sale, insisting there had been numerous expressions of interest in a buyout.
British Airways boss Martin Broughton was brought in as Liverpool chairman in April to facilitate the sale of the club and along with Hicks and Gillett is part of a five-man board at Liverpool that also includes chief executive Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre.
