The board of England's most successful football club, Liverpool, has agreed to sell the club to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox.
However, the BBC reports the takeover by the New England Sports Ventures requires resolution of a legal dispute with the Reds' American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
The Premier League hopes to "complete all the necessary processes by Friday so the sale can proceed".
The BBC reports NESV is thought to be offering about £300 million for the club, enough to repay £240 million in loans and £40 million in fees owed to Royal Bank of Scotland.
These must be settled by 15 October or else a penalty fee of £60 million will be due.
Liverpool is currently undergoing its worst start to a season in 57 years.
Dent load
The club was put up for sale by Hicks and Gillett in April with debts of £351.4 million.
Initially an asking price of about £800 million was sought, a figure that was subsequently dropped to £600 million.
In August, there were abortive bids from Hong Kong businessman Kenny Huang while a consortium fronted by Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi also expressed an interest.
The owners paid £174.1 million for the club in 2007, while also agreeing to take on the club's debt of £44.8 million.
