The race to buy Chelsea continues to rumble on with final bids expected to be submitted by the end of next week. Roman Abramovich has put the side up for sale and four candidates remain, including American billionaire Todd Boehly's consortium.
Alongside Hansjorg Wyss, Boehly was one of the first candidates to throw his hat into the ring to take over the Blues from Abramovich. But three rival bids remain in the running with the Ricketts family, Steve Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton all looking to take control.
Two of Boehly's rivals, the Ricketts family and Steve Pagliuca, have moved to bolster their bids in recent weeks. Ken Griffin has joined the former's bid while Pagliuca has approached former Disney chief Bob Iger for support in his pursuits.
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So would Boehly make his own move? For a while, it seemed the consortium would continue as it had done throughout the process, but a report from The Athletic on Friday showed that would not be the case. Mark Walter, a partner of Boehly's in the Guggenheim project that owns the LA Dodgers, is set to join the bid.
Who is Mark Walter?
Walter is a billionaire born in Iowa and is now the chief executive of the aforementioned project. Guggenheim Partners are made up of Boehly, Walter, tennis legend Billie Jean King and Basketball icon Magic Johnson, as well as other wealthy investors.
In December 2012, Walter was named as the eighth most influential person in sport business by SportsBusiness Journal thanks to his work with the Dodgers. It is Walter who remains the controlling owner of the MLB side, not Boehly.
While the consortium was already considered the front-runner for the ownership, the Athletic's report states that Walter's involvement is likely to only strengthen that position. The 62-year-old has a net worth of just over £3.3 billion and could well be the difference in beating opposition bids. Boehly was at Stamford Bridge for Wednesday's Champions League clash and reportedly stayed on for meetings with Chelsea executives on Thursday.
The off-field issue remains a hot topic as Thomas Tuchel continues to try and steer the Chelsea ship through the storm. He had been doing so impressively until the last week when the Blues were beaten 4-1 by Brentford and 3-1 by Real Madrid in the space of five days. But the German is eager not to use it as an excuse.
"You ask about the circumstances and the change of ownership, I see no difference between the last weeks and the last weeks we performed," he told his post-match press conference after the Madrid defeat. "I do not accept it as an excuse because of the same reasons that I said before. It is the moment now to find an end to this period of conceding goals and losing games very quickly because we are in an absolutely crucial time of the season."
