Nick Candy bid for Chelsea attracting support from rival suitors for the club

Several rival Chelsea suitors have approached Nick Candy on joining the British property tycoon’s bid for the Stamford Bridge club, the PA news agency understands.

Billionaire property developer Candy has the financing in place for his Chelsea bid, which the 49-year-old believes will be a very attractive consortium proposition.

Investment fund Citadel is thought to have held talks with Candy on underpinning his bid to buy the Blues.

But the lifelong Chelsea fan is understood to be yet to finalise the finer details of his purchase proposal.

Roman Abramovich’s UK Government sanctions have accelerated the Russian-Israeli billionaire’s Chelsea sale, with merchant bank the Raine Group setting a deadline for bids of March 18.

Downing Street sanctioned Abramovich last Thursday, claiming to have proved the 55-year-old’s links to Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.

Chelsea owner Abramovich has always denied involvement in Russia’s current regime, but opted to put the Blues up for sale on March 2 after 19 years at the helm.

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LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, Chicago Cubs’ owner Tom Ricketts and former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton are among the credible Chelsea suitors.

Boehly explored a Chelsea bid back in 2019 and any previous due diligence could hand his consortium an edge now amid a fast-paced bidding process.

All the genuine bidders are now racing against time to put the finishing touches on their submissions before Raine’s March 18 deadline.

The Government, having implemented sanctions, will oversee the process, but Chelsea have fallen under a state of limbo amid wrangling with Downing Street over the conditions of the operating licence.

Stamford Bridge boss Thomas Tuchel has had to stand front and centre as club ambassador in the wake of mounting uncertainty.

The German coach has adopted a statesmanlike approach to a whole range of geopolitical issues, and while he admitted an unease about that role he still accepts it fully.

Asked if he will be relieved if the arrival of a new owner would bring an end to questions on world politics, Tuchel replied: “Yes but before we discuss a new owner, a new owner needs to arrive and a new owner needs to be approved and then be allowed to own the football club.

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“And then we can discuss about it if it’s necessary to discuss about it.

“But then maybe again I’m not the right person, because there is a process on how you become an owner in this league.

“Did I have a choice? No, I did not have a choice to also take this role.

“Do I need it? No, but listen it’s more or less day by day and it’s like this in England that not a lot of people I think in general in sports are talking at a football club.

“It’s a structure that I really appreciate, so we talk inside.

“And of course we have people who are in charge of different roles and responsibilities, but to the outside it’s more or less me who talks.

“Was it always comfortable? No, it’s necessary but I don’t think too much about it.

“I try to be honest, I try to give you insight and I try to provide you with information but more or less still from a sportive side, and still from a coach’s heart.

“This is what I try and this is maybe what you can rely on.

“And I’m more than happy if things calm down and we can speak more about football, more than happy.”