Chelsea coach, Thomas Tuchel, has confirmed the club now have a preferred bidder, as the club looks to wrap up its search for a new owner.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the Premier League side need to urgently complete the takeover before next month’s deadline to avoid de-registration.
For Tuchel, he is confident that a deal will be struck soon.
A consortium led by Todd Boehly is believed to be preferred bidder status by the Raine Group, the New York bank overseeing Chelsea ’s sale.
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They had beaten a number of other bidders, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s last-minute bid now also expected to prove unsuccessful.
‘I’ve been told last week that we have a preferred bidder and things are going forward,’ Tuchel said.
‘It’s a pretty important week for the club, but I was fully focused on the pitch. But after what I heard last week I’m confident.’
Meanwhile, Billionaire Roman Abramovich has maintained his position over the sale of Chelsea Football Club of England is unchanged and has denied asking for any loan to be repaid to him.
Reports have suggested that the Russian-Israeli, who was sanctioned by the UK Government on March 10 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could insist on a repayment.
Africa Daily News, New York can confirm that he is being owed 1.5 billion pounds (1.9 billion dollars) by the club.
Such a move could jeopardise the entire sale process of the English Premier League (EPL) club.
A consortium spearheaded by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly has been afforded preferred bidder status for the club.
Chelsea’s sale has a deadline of May 31, when the Government’s temporary licence for the Blues expires.
Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, tabled a last-ditch bid to buy Chelsea on Friday.
This was just as New York merchant bank Raine Group was preparing to confirm Boehly’s consortium as the preferred bidder.
