Todd Boehly is later today expected to sign the first contract ahead of his prospective £4billion takeover of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
The West London club are in a race against time to find new owners before the expiration of the special operating licence imposed by the government since March 10 owing to Abramovich being sanctioned because of his alleged links to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
It has had a huge knock-on effect at Stamford Bridge because they cannot sell tickets to fans, negotiate transfers or renew contracts of their players.
Abramovich had already put the club up for sale on March 2, citing the attention on the club following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and a large-scale search for a new owner has been narrowed down to one choice by the Raine Group, who have been handling the multi-billion pound transaction.
LA Dodgers co-owner Boehly was selected as the preferred bidder last week, giving him the right to hold exclusive negotiations. Those have progressed sufficiently for the American to now be put forward to the government as the club seek an amendement to the operating licence to allow a sale to proceed.
The Premier League has carried out background checks on Boehly's consortium, which includes funding from Clearlake Capital, Jonathan Goldstein and Hansjorg Wyss. Despite the fact that the sale will amount to £4bn, there is confidence on all sides that a deal can be concluded quickly.
However, it will first require Boehly to sign a purchase agreement which will be offered today. A potential hiccup arrived when reports emerged that Abramovich was digging his heels in over a £1.6bn loan but his spokeswoman last night issued a statement denying those claims.
A statement on Chelsea's website read: "Mr Abramovich has not asked for any loan to be repaid to him – such suggestions are entirely false – as are suggestions that Mr Abramovich increased the price of the Club last minute.
"As part of Mr Abramovich’s objective to find a good custodian for Chelsea FC, he has however encouraged each bidder throughout this process to commit investing in the Club – including in the Academy, Women’s team, necessary redevelopment of the stadium as well as maintaining the work of Chelsea Foundation."
