Southampton have accepted a bid from Chelsea for highly coveted left back Wayne Bridge and given the defender permission to enter talks with the west London club.
The approach for the England defender is the latest attempt by Chelsea's new Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to turn his team into Barclaycard Premiership title contenders.
Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe told www.saintsfc.co.uk: "I regret to inform our supporters that we have today given Wayne Bridge permission to speak to Chelsea Football Club with a view to signing for them.
The statement continued: "Wayne has quickly achieved great footballing success in his time with our club and has served us well.
"He has, however, made it known to both Gordon Strachan and me that he believes a move to Chelsea to be a career progression and an opportunity he cannot turn down.
"He is grateful for the tremendous support he has received from our club, from both staff and supporters, which has undoubtedly contributed to his success.
"He has, however, made it clear that he wants to play Champions League football, which he believes will give him a better chance of making him first choice for England.
"He will enjoy greater financial rewards at Chelsea and the club is geographically well-placed for him to regularly visit his family.
"In the past we have rejected offers for Wayne Bridge from clubs to which he was not attracted.
"He has now handed us a transfer request thereby making it difficult for us to retain him despite the fact that he still has three years remaining on his contract.
"We subscribe to the view that sporting success is achieved by people who want to play together, share a common goal and are committed to the club and their team-mates.
Southampton-born Bridge signed professional forms with Saints in January 1998, and his league debut followed on the first day of the 1998-99 season in a home clash with Liverpool.
Bridge was an ever-present in the 2000/01 season and was voted the club's Player of the Year accolade.
He made his England debut in a friendly against Holland in February 2002 and was part of Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea last summer.