Chelsea bidders set to learn fate as Raine prepare to announce preferred offer

Chelsea should soon discover who the Premier League club's next owners will be, with American bank Raine set to reveal their preferred bidder among the three remaining offers this week.

Raine were commissioned to lead the sale process by Roman Abramovich before the Russian billionaire was hit by UK government sanctions last month over his alleged connections to Vladimir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The European and world champions have since been operating under a special licence that limits their ability to sell tickets, merchandise and operate in the transfer market.

Chelsea won 19 major trophies during Abramovich's 19-year reign and could add another when they face Liverpool in next month's FA Cup final.

However, the impact of the sanctions is beginning to show, with rows of empty seats in the home end for Arsenal's 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

The club also cannot offer new contracts, with defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen likely to leave at the end of the season on free transfers.

The hope is that new owners will be in place by the end of the campaign.

None of the three bids is expected to run into trouble passing the Premier League's owners' and directors' test or seeking UK government approval.

Soft loans totalling £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) from Abramovich have fuelled Chelsea's success over the past two decades but he will not claim that money back and will not receive funds from the sale while sanctioned.

1) League Cup, February 2005: Chelsea won their first trophy under Roman Abramovich by defeating Liverpool 3-2 after extra time in the 2003 League Cup final. John Arne Riise scored early for Liverpool before a Steven Gerrard own goal sent the game into extra time.