All three of Chelsea’s prospective new owners have assured Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck that they want them to remain at the helm of the club.
It is understood that during discussions with club executives before submitting final offers, the consortiums led by Todd Boehly, Sir Martin Broughton and Steve Pagliuca made it clear that continuity was seen as vital to competing at the top of European football.
Granovskaia’s football expertise, in particular, is hugely valued by all three parties, who also insist they are committed to providing her with the funds to keep hold of and recruit top talent.
Chairman Buck is also seen as important to ensure a smooth transition once Roman Abramovich is bought out.
There remains uncertainty over the positions of Chelsea’s hierarchy once the takeover is complete, with each of the candidates planning to make their own appointments to the board. But Granovskaia and Buck are considered intrinsic to the success of the club.
Director Granovskaia has been lauded for Chelsea’s transfer strategy, in particular the money brought in through the sale of academy prospects such as Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi, who raised a combined £76million last summer.
It is not clear if she would want to remain in the post, but the indications are all three contenders would fight to keep hold of her.
Boehly, Broughton and Pagliuca are waiting to learn if they will be put forward by US merchant bank Raine Group as the preferred bidder after submitting final offers last week.
They have been asked to provide further details of their individual proposals this week, as Raine and Chelsea consider which one to present to the Treasury ahead of the issuing of a new licence to sell the club.
A decision could come as early as today, but bidders were this morning anticipating the wait going on until next week after accepting the difficulty in processing a buyout of this magnitude in such a short space of time.
It is believed the final offers submitted have topped £3billion, including commitments to stadium redevelopments and funding of the first team, women’s team and academy.
