Former Chelsea icon Paul Canoville has told the potential new owners three things they need to do to win the supporters over this summer ahead of the April deadline.
Todd Boehly and the Ricketts Family seem to be the two frontrunners in this everchanging race with both consortiums having been shown Cobham already, whilst also meeting Canoville to discuss diversity and inclusion strategy. The former of the pair was even pictured and filmed at Stamford Bridge watching on from the executive box as Chelsea fell to a first-leg Champions League defeat against Real Madrid. It was a move that went down well in the fanbase.
All interested parties have until April 18 to improve their offers as the Raine Group in conjunction with senior Chelsea figures prepare for the next phase of the new ownership search. Whoever is to win the race has a number of issues to sort out. Who do they bring in during their first transfer windows to try and back up their claims made in their pitches? Does long-term target Declan Dice definitely sign now? Can we hand Thomas Tuchel a new contract? How do we keep Antonio Rüdiger?
READ MORE: Ian Wright makes 'unlucky' Timo Werner Chelsea claim after Southampton performance
All issues that club icon Canoville has told the new owners to deal with immediately if they are to follow on from the Roman Abramovich era successfully. He, on @KingCanners, replied to a fan on Twitter who said their daughter had attended two of the big wins for Chelsea this season: "New owners gotta send her a season ticket before giving TT and Rudi new improved contracts then bringing Declan Rice home [followed by a blue heart emoji]."
Regarding Rice, football.london understands that West Ham regard the midfielder as untouchable and that has been backed up by David Moyes' recent comments on the situation at hand. Regarding Tuchel, the German had rejected approaches from Man United but could still move on this summer if he isn't given the assurances he craves. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain could be looking for new head coaches in the summer which is a dangerous sign for a club who are in transition.
Finally, as it stands, both Rudiger and Andreas Christensen walk out of the door for free this summer with the current license placed on the club by the government preventing Marina Granovskaia and co from negotiating new contract extensions. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta is able to stay though despite initial worries due to the Spaniard reaching an appearance-based clause that has automatically extended his current deal by one further year.
