Chelsea bidders given April 11 deadline to submit final offers to buy club after Roman Abramovich sale decision

Raine Group has set a deadline of April 11 for the four bidders to submit their final offers to purchase Chelsea. Chelsea were put up for sale by Roman Abramovich, with the Blues owner currently under sanctions by the UK government.

Ad/> Interested parties submitted bids earlier in the month, and the process was whittled down to four by Raine Group who are handling the sale on behalf of Abramovich. TransfersArsenal face summer battle for Neves and Gakpo — Paper RoundYESTERDAY AT 22:57 The Ricketts family (owners of the Chicago Cubs), Todd Boehly (part-owner of the LA Dodgers), Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and a consortium fronted by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton made it onto the shortlist — and they will now have to firm up their offerings.

According to Sky News, Raine Group has set a deadline of April 11 for final offers to be submitted — which hands the quartet the opportunity to raise their offers. Abramovich said when announcing his intention to sell that he wanted the new owners to continue to build the club — and Raine has informed those still in the running that “they must commit at least £1 billion to future investment in the club if they are to win control of the club.” Hayes' Chelsea hit Leicester for nine Pogba still waiting on future choice Once bids have been submitted, Raine will assess them against a set of criteria before taking the preferred bidder to the UK government for final approval.

Despite its complexity, the sale is progressing at pace and a new owner could be in control before the end of April. On the field, Chelsea are battling on three fronts.