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The caretaker has mopped up the last drops of doubt after a successful deadline day stamped his authority on Anfield

Now Liverpool and Fernando Torres have ended the pretence that a) their jewel is not for sale and b) he has Anfield etched on to his soul, it cannot be long before Fenway Sports Group banishes another uncertainty over the club’s future direction. That would be the “caretaker” prefix before “manager” in the job title of Kenny Dalglish.

The strategy of John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool’s principal owner and chairman, has been muddied by their first foray into the transfer market, though there is no mistaking their ambition. They approached January with a reputation for using Sabermetrics – a statistical system used to assess players that was developed in baseball – to make considered purchases and a stated aim not to make the kind of rushed judgments that had cost Liverpool dearly before their arrival. They spent £35m on Andy Carroll within 24 hours of Torres showing up at Melwood with his representatives to say there was no way

• Chelsea prepare fresh bid of £40m for Spaniard
• Striker tells club the time is right to leave Anfield

Chelsea will return with an improved £40m offer for Fernando Torres with the Premier League champions hopeful of closing the deal before Monday’s transfer deadline after the striker told Liverpool he wants to leave.

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, is prepared to add the young striker Daniel Sturridge as a makeweight in the new bid, which will follow the £35m that was rejected by Liverpool yesterday. Chelsea intend to push hard for what would be a stunning coup and have been encouraged both by Torres’s actions – although he has not yet submitted a formal transfer request – and by Liverpool agreeing a £22.8m deal with Ajax for Luis Suárez this afternoon.

The Suárez fee, which will place him second to Torres as the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history, represents a £10m increase on the offer that Ajax rejected earlier this week.

Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owners, hope the signing of the Uruguay international, who has still to complete a medical and agree personal terms, will convince Torres of their ambitions and they remain adamant that their leading goalscorer is not for sale. However, the 26-year-old has reached the point where he believes a departure from Anfield is the right move for his career and does not want to miss for the second time the opportunity to join Chelsea. He has urged FSG to broker an agreement that is good for both himself and the club.

Chelsea’s move carries an opportunistic edge. They tried to sign Torres last summer, only for Liverpool to put a prohibitive price tag on him. Chelsea were mindful that Manchester City were also after the Spaniard. Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, was not prepared to enter into an auction. That remains the case.

But with City having signed Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg for £27m earlier in the month, Chelsea feel they might have a clear shot at Torres now. Hence their determination to get him during this transfer window rather than wait until the summer, when City and others might re-enter the bidding. A footnote to the intrigue is that, if Torres does sign for Chelsea, his debut could be against Liverpool, who play at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday week.

“Every time, when there is a possibility to find a better player for this club, we will try,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t need to explain when we move. When we try to do something, we speak together and make the decision. I knew about the bid. I’m not surprised because I know what the club is doing. The club is doing a fantastic job in this transfer market. It is trying to do everything to improve the squad.”

Another factor in Chelsea’s late move for the Spain international is the £50m release clause he was granted by Liverpool last summer. Sources close to Torres have denied such a clause exists and, in this transfer window, that is correct. It is understood the clause comes into effect this summer, providing Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Kenny Dalglish’s side are currently nine points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, having played one game more, and any suitor would have to pay £50m to release Torres from a £110,000-a-week contract that runs until 2013 should they remain outside the top four.

Torres sought assurances that he could leave in the event of another disappointing season last summer, when he knew Chelsea and City were circling. Those discussions were held with the then managing director, Christian Purslow, who has now left the club, and ultimately led to the striker’s pledging his loyalty to

• Striker feels move would be right for his career
• Torres considers Liverpool have not lived up to promises

Fernando Torres has told Liverpool to sit down and negotiate with Chelsea, having reached the point at which he believes that a departure from Anfield is now the right move for his career. With just four days of the winter transfer window remaining the striker is aware that time is running out but he does not want to miss out on the opportunity to join Chelsea for a second time. He has urged the Fenway Sports Group to broker an agreement that is good for both player and club. There is not, however, a clause that will allow Torres to unilaterally break his contract.

Chelsea made a bid for Torres during the summer but the striker was told that he would not be able to depart with the club undergoing a sales process. The price quoted for his transfer was so high as to be simply a symbolic “not for sale” sign. At the time, Torres sought assurances that he would be able to depart in the future, should an acceptable bid be made and he consider a move necessary. Those discussions were held with the then managing director Christian Purslow who has now left the club – and no written legal clause was signed.

Torres also wanted assurances over the future of the club when Liverpool were bought out by the new owners. Torres’s camp believes that promises have been broken. Liverpool are not the club that Torres joined and the striker is pessimistic over the future and his patience has worn thin with the absence of investment or activity since the takeover. Roy Hodgson’s departure and the appointment of Kenny Dalglish was a step in the right direction but is not enough. Liverpool have only made one significant move in the transfer window, for the Uruguay striker Luis Suárez.

It is now a case of Liverpool convincing Torres not to go. The striker can see little real argument to continue at Anfield. Although there is no plan to try to force a move through and despite the recognition that Liverpool could block the move, Torres believes that an immediate departure is the best solution. Liverpool’s decision to announce the bid could be interpreted as an attempt to flush Torres out and force him to push for an exit.

If he were to join Chelsea, Torres would be eligible to play in the Champions League. He is hopeful of Liverpool recognising that his departure could be good for all concerned. Liverpool signed Torres for £23m; they could make over £20m in profit if they were to sell now. Indeed, it is the money from a Torres deal that could unlock the funds necessary to make an improved bid to clinch Suárez.

Liverpool have reopened talks with Ajax over Suárez this afternoon and, it is believed, made a breakthrough over a transfer fee for the Uruguay international.

The Dutch club rejected a £12.8m offer from Liverpool for their captain earlier this week and had insisted on €30m (£25.8m) for the deal to happen. Suárez has told the coach, Frank De Boer, that he wishes to leave Amsterdam for Merseyside and, mindful that his value will drop if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League, Ajax are now understood to be open to a compromise fee with Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, refused to be drawn on his club’s bid for Fernando Torres – but said he was happy that “the club are trying to do everything they can to improve the squad”. But Ancelotti said: “I don’t want to speak about this, you will have to ask the club. He is not my player and I have to have respect for Liverpool. I don’t like to speak about this.”

Ancelotti had previously intimated that the club’s protracted pursuit of Benfica defender David Luiz would be their only major move of the January transfer window. But, asked if the Torres bid had therefore caught him by surprise, he said: “I’m not surprised, because I know very well what the club is doing now. I am happy because the club is doing a fantastic job in this transfer market. The club is trying to do everything to improve the squad.”

Fernando TorresLiverpoolChelseaTransfer windowSid LoweAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk