Martin Broughton is hopeful Liverpool will be under new ownership by the end of the summer.

The Chairman today insisted nothing was certain but that the first round of bidding was likely to take place in mid-July.

And he moved to assure fans that the club would be sold to the best - not the highest - bidder.

He told reporters: "There have not been any offers at this stage. There haven't been any offers to turn down and I wouldn't have expected there to have been at this stage.

"There are a number of interested parties but there's no specific deadline on it. We are looking to the middle of July-ish for the first round of bids but that's not a final stage - that's a first entry through.

"We're hopeful - and I wouldn't put it any stronger than that - that a deal can be done by the end of the transfer season. That was always from the outset a hope rather than necessarily an expectation, because these things can take time.

"We are on course, pretty well, with where we would have expected to be."

Broughton also explained his own role in the sale, adding: "The process is well under way and if I can remind you of what that process is - I've been brought in to oversee the sale process. The owners have stepped aside, stepped down. I'm overseeing the process and Barclays Capital are running the process.

"The process is a structured one. The information memorandum has gone out to a number of people who have expressed an interest. We're still in that process."

Quizzed on the part owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were playing, Broughton said: "The owners can't block the sale of the club. I read all too frequently numbers being floated about in the media, normally associated with Tom Hicks's name. I would like to make it clear there is no number. There is no base line.

"This is a willing buyer, willing seller auction. We will do a deal with what we consider to be the best bidder. The best bidder may not be the highest bidder. It's about more than just money. It's about stadium development, the team and the whole piece.

"Once we've been through the process, the best bidder gets it."