Todd Boehly has reportedly provided Raine Group 'proof' that his consortium could complete a takeover of Chelsea Football Club before the side's next Premier League match with Brentford in two weeks' time. Friday evening is the deadline for interested parties to submit their final bids.
According to the Telegraph, Boehly's consortium have made it clear to Raine, the organisation in charge of the bidding process of the west London club, that they have everything in place to complete the takeover before April 2's clash with Brentford. It's understood that Boehly's bid is between £2billion and £2.5billion.
Raine have already warned interested investors that their first offer could be their final one, with the group keen to get the process completed as soon as possible. The UK government would need to give the go-ahead to any offer, but the report claims that Boehly is confident he could get their approval as well as the Premier League's.
READ MORE: Clearlake Capital join Todd Boehly's consortium as Chelsea takeover deadline nears
Boehly's consortium includes Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, London-based property investor Jonathan Goldstein, Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein and Clearlake Capital. The group are understood to be one of the front-runners to take over from Roman Abramovich.
The report from the Telegraph also states that the Boehly group have already looked into the possibility of redeveloping Stamford Bridge on its current site. This is something Raine insist should be in any new owners' mind before taking over the west London club.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, inevitably, was bombarded with questions about the sale of the club in his pre-match press conference on Friday. When asked what he wants from the new owner of the club, Tuchel responded: "Hopefully they love winning! That would be a big plus."
He was also asked if he was involved with the sale of Chelsea and replied: "I am absolutely not involved. Zero. I am informed from time to time but as you know, we have a pretty tight schedule.
"So I am happy not to be involved in every little step and every little change in the process. It gives me the advantage to focus on football, the staff here, the environment I can influence - the 80 people here at Cobham.
"So I am quite happy about it. Of course, I am informed but I am not asked and it's not necessary. It's not my job. It's not my role."
