Chelsea’s plans to build a multi-club network could be boosted after UEFA said it may relax restrictions on clubs with the same owner playing in the Champions League simultaneously.
Current UEFA rules ban owning two clubs in the same competition, which has limited Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s search for satellite teams.
If regulations are relaxed then Chelsea could target bigger clubs to add to their stable.
The takeover of Manchester United has raised issues around the potential conflict of owning two clubs in the same competition, with the two main offers for United coming from owners who have relationships with clubs in Ligue 1 in France.
But UEFA is considering a rule change, according to its president Aleksander Ceferin.
“We've had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club,” Ceferin told Gary Neville's The Overlap YouTube channel. “We have to see what to do.
"The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition. I'm not sure yet.
"We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it. There is more and more interest in this multi-club ownership. We shouldn't just say no for the investments for multi-club ownership, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case, because the rules have to be strict."
While no deal is close, Chelsea have held talks about buying various clubs across Europe, including French team Lyon and Portuguese outfit Portimonense.
Chelsea have also explored the possibility of acquiring a club in Belgium, while they have been turned down by French side Sochaux and Brazilian giants Santos.
Boehly is impressed by the Red Bull football group, who own Leipzig and Salzburg, and believes an affiliation with other clubs will help give their young players top-level experience elsewhere in Europe.
The possibility of helping players from weaker leagues become eligible for UK work permits, which has become harder after Brexit, is another reason behind their interest in the multi-club model.
Ceferin said: “From one point of view, it's true if you are the owner of two clubs and they play in the same competition you can say to one club to lose because you want the other to win," he added. "But for you, as a football player, do you think it's so easy to do that, to tell a coach, lose because the other wants to win?"
