Former Chelsea icon Paul Canoville has given his backing to Todd Boehly to complete a takeover of the club after speaking with all three candidates.
Chelsea along with the Raine Group have now whittled down the shortlist to just three consortiums: Sir Martin Broughton's group, Todd Boehly's own clan and Stephen Pagliuca's consortium, which has the backing of John Terry's fan-led group. It was rumoured that the latter of the three bids would not make the final cut, but these claims have been rebuffed.
On top of this, It was also hoped that the process of finding Abramovich's successor would go quicker than normal, but it seems the end of May could be the point whereby a new owner is instated at Stamford Bridge amid the current uncertainty that has come about regarding the upcoming and important summer transfer window. Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton had joined Broughton's bid as each team look to oust each other in their battle to win the keys to the Bridge, and manager Thomas Tuchel said he has a lot of respect for the two sporting icons who are now embroiled in the race.
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"I just heard it. I got a briefing and heard that they are a part of it. I can't tell you much more than that. I am a big admirer of both of them," Tuchel admitted in his pre-match press conference ahead of the West Ham win. "They are fantastic sports personalities on the court, on the racetrack, and off. They take responsibility as people and are outstanding sports figures in what they do, for which they have our biggest and my biggest respect. I have absolutely no insight into the proceeding and what role they play. I would like to not comment."
The Premier League have reportedly made their own unofficial background checks on the candidates, and former Icon Canoville - who is very respected amongst the club's fanbase - has given his own backing to Boehly's bid. He explained on his Twitter account: "I need to declare that the Todd Boehly team who met with myself and my Foundation chair, Raphael were the ones that impressed us most.
"Todd delayed a flight back to the states in order to spend some time with us and then his team talked us through their plans. The expertise around sports marketing and how to make Chelsea the biggest sports brand in the world was impressive as was the expertise around the stadium plans.
"What won me over entirely though, was the huge passion for social impact around community outreach and how important they saw it. He also touched on how important they saw it. He also touched on how he believes that the ex-players should be more heavily involved; across the board, in all areas of the club.
"When I met Michael Broughton he spoke about this concept of celebrities heading up our clubs' Diversity and inclusion programmes and I was not impressed. We already have a very good foundation and I feel we could indeed be working with our own celebrity fans."
Chelsea Fans- What do you make about Canoville's statement on the takeover race? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
