American billionaire Todd Boehly is hoping to sign the first official contract of his bid to complete a takeover of Chelsea on Friday. His consortium bid has been selected as the preferred option by the Blues and Raine with Roman Abramovich now seeking government approval for the takeover.
The process to find the Russian's successor has become far more confusing and drawn out than many will have hoped. The arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe to the race, promising a £4bn investment, threw the previous weeks of work by the other three candidates into doubt.
Steve Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton saw their bids pass the first stage alongside Boehly's and how Ratcliffe's bid would be welcomed was a cause for doubt. But it now appears that Boehly's position as preferred bidder has remained unchanged.
