BLACKBURN Rovers striker Craig Bellamy will cut short his Mediterranean holiday and sign for Liverpool in the next 24 hours.

The Welsh international has been given permission to speak to the Reds after Rafa Benitez triggered the £6.5 million release clause in his contract when he lodged an official bid on Monday.

Bellamy will now return from Greece for talks with Benitez, but he has already told friends he wants to join the Reds, and he's even ready to take a pay cut in order to fulfil his boyhood dream.

News of Bellamy's imminent departure is a major blow to Mark Hughes, who has spent most of the summer scouring Europe for a partner to play alongside the fiery Welshman.

Now the Rovers boss is facing up to the fact he will have to bring in at least two major signings up front - and possibly even three - to boost a strikeforce that has been decimated since the end of last season.

Rovers already have one bid on the table for a mystery target and Hughes will have a transfer war-chest of £10 million to revamp his forward line because once Bellamy leaves, he will be left with just two senior strikers in the shape of Shefki Kuqi and Paul Gallagher.

In the meantime, Benitez is looking for a swift conclusion to the Bellamy saga and he reckons a deal is now a formality, providing the striker shows the necessary passion he is looking for when they meet face-to-face.

"We have an agreement which allows us to talk to the player," said the Spaniard.

"He is on holiday, but we will talk over the next few days.

"I know the player's qualities very well. He is a very good footballer and now we need to see if he has the passion to play for our club.

"I don't think this will be a problem because he is a Liverpool fan, so I think it will be easy for him.

"I will be talking to him to express my ideas.

"He has the ability, the pace and the talent we've been looking for and now we need to talk about other things."

There have been instances when moves like this have fallen through in the past; Liverpool once famously pulled out of a deal to sign Lee Bowyer after the midfielder failed to convince Gerard Houllier that he had the necessary passion to play for the club.

But Bellamy is a life-long Liverpool fan and he seems desperate to seal a move to Anfield, where he will get the chance to play in the Champions League next season.