Todd Boehly has finally been cleared to take control of Chelsea, with the American immediately setting his sights on a summer spending spree.
The Government this morning confirmed it had granted a licence for Roman Abramovich to sell the club, after weeks of negotiations with the Russian’s lawyers. Whitehall is now satisfied no proceeds from the £4.25billion sale will go to the oligarch, who was sanctioned due to his links with Vladimir Putin.
The Premier League have also approved Boehly’s buyout, after he and his consortium passed their owners and directors’ test. All that remains now is for Abramovich to be granted a separate licence via Portugal, where he also holds citizenship, with the European Commission now satisfied over the proceeds of the deal.
Completion of the drawn-out takeover will finally give Thomas Tuchel clarity over his summer plans, with the Chelsea boss growing increasingly frustrated over the club’s enforced inactivity in the transfer market.
He is concerned about the widening gap between Chelsea and Manchester City and Liverpool and is eager to address the deficiencies in his squad. Tuchel has already warned Boehly he faces an impossible job to catch up with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp in one summer, with serious investment required just to make up for the departures of out-of-contract Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Sources close to Boehly say he is determined to return the club to the summit of English football and has even set his sights on bettering Abramovich’s unprecedented success. He is said to be acutely aware of the relationship between average wage bills and Premier League positions and is going into the club with his eyes open.
Boehly has already agreed to invest an extra £1.75bn into the club on top of the £2.5bn to buy out Abramovich. That will be pumped into the first team, as well as the stadium, women’s team and the academy.
But it is Tuchel’s squad that requires immediate attention, with Chelsea finishing 19 points adrift of champions City, after seeing their title challenge fall away at the midway stage. That could see Boehly provide as much as £200million this summer for two centre-backs, with Jules Kounde the top target, cover at wing-back, as well as potential additions in midfield and attack.
Tuchel believes Chelsea have already lost ground on City, who have just completed the signing of Erling Haaland, and Liverpool, who signed Luis Diaz in January. But Government approval means he can now get to work on what he considers a vital rebuild.
In a statement released this morning, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Late last night, the UK Government reached a position where we could issue a licence that permits the sale of Chelsea.
“Following the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich, the Government has worked hard to ensure Chelsea have been able to continue to play football. But we have always been clear that the long-term future of the club could only be secured under a new owner.
“Following extensive work, we are now satisfied that the full proceeds of the sale will not benefit Roman Abramovich or any other sanctioned individual. We will now begin the process of ensuring the proceeds of the sale are used for humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
“The steps today will secure the future of this important cultural asset and protect fans and the wider football community.”
