MARINA GRANOVSKAIA'S future as Chelsea technical director has emerged as an uncertain following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, any potential Blues bidders will be presented with the opportunity to sway her to stay alongside Thomas Tuchel in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Mason Mount who's future stand with the Blues, starred for England against Switzerland as Gareth Southgate's side came from behind to beat the visitors in a friendly.
And Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher impressed alongside Mount for the Three Lions before mentioning that joining Crystal Palace in the summer was the right thing for his career.
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- Joshua Jones
Good morning to Blues fans
The controversial Ricketts family are the first of Chelsea's four bidders to reportedly agree £1billion future investment.
It's claimed the Blues made the huge demand as part of the £2.5-£3bn club takeover.
The four shortlisted consortiums are led by: Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts, ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, and Boston Celtics and Atalanta co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
Chelsea will give all four the chance to hold talks with manager Thomas Tuchel and director Marina Granovskaia.
And the Ricketts have mounted a huge charm offensive in the past few days following an outcry over historic racism claims.
They flew in to discuss their plans with fans following fierce opposition, including a #NoToRicketts social media campaign.
Tuchel appears to have the backing of all interested parties.
But the repercussions of sanction-hit owner Roman Abramovich being ousted continue.
Juventus, Manchester United and Newcastle could all fight it out for centre-back Antonio Rudiger at the end of the season.
- Ian Tuckey
Chelsea hover amid Dembele contract stand-off
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has issued Chelsea transfer target Ousmane Dembele – also linked with Manchester United – a blunt warning amid a contract stand-off.
Laporta is still holding talks with Dembele, whose deal with Barca runs out in June, and insists he will have to lower his wage demands if he wishes to stay at the Nou Camp.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the Barca bigwig has told the winger he will have to adapt to the club’s new salary scale that is set to come into effect next season.
- Ian Tuckey
Tuchel and Granovskaia to meet bidders
Potential Chelsea buyers will be given the opportunity to hold talks with manager Thomas Tuchel and Marina Granovskaia before a £2.5billion takeover.
Chelsea have whittled down their list of potential buyers to just a handful of consortiums.
The Blues are now set to choose from options that includes a group involving Seb Coe, ex-Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and two American businessmen.
And according to The Times, all parties will be given the opportunity to hold talks with manager Tuchel and director Granovskaia.
Those talks could prove pivotal to swaying who is ultimately named as the preferred bidder.
Granovskaia is close to Abramovich and oversees the club’s transfer business.
The 47-year-old has been a key part of Abramovich’s real inner circle for the best part of two decades.
- Ian Tuckey
Utd joined by Juventus in Rudiger race
Juventus are tipped to rival Manchester United and possibly Newcastle for Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger.
The Germany star is one of the Blues whose future seems most uncertain in the summer amid their takeover saga.
- Ian Tuckey
Ricketts 'prepared to meet £1bn demand'
The controversial Ricketts family are reportedly willing to pledge the £1bn squad funding Chelsea want as part of a takeover deal.
The Telegraph say the Chicago Cubs owners – whose offer sparked criticism from Blues fans due to historical racism claims -have already come forward to meet the demand.
The mega-rich family are on the four-bid shortlist to buy out Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich despite a #NoToRicketts social media campaign.
- Ian Tuckey
Buy-out contenders must invest hugely in squad
Chelsea's buyout candidates are mulling over the reported need to commit £1billion to future investment.
Apart from the club's £3bn takeover valuation, the Blues are said to want guarantees of huge funding for Thomas Tuchel's squad.
The four consortiums in the running are thought to be: Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family, former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton aided by Sir Seb Coe, LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, and Boston Celtics and Atalanta co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
- Ian Tuckey
Juve and Red Devils could battle it out for Rudiger
Juventus are tipped to rival Manchester United and possibly Newcastle for Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger.
The Germany star is one of the Blues whose future seems most uncertain in the summer amid their takeover saga,
- Ian Tuckey
Latest: England 2 Switzerland 1
Harry Kane's 78th minute penalty put England in front for the first time.
Steven Zuber's handball from a Marc Guehi header was penalised by VAR, enabling Kane to draw level with Bobby Charlton from the spot as the Three Lions' all-time top scorer on 49 goals.
Click on our match blog HERE for updates from Wembley in this friendly.
- Ian Tuckey
H/T: England 1 Switzerland 1
Luke Shaw punished woeful Swiss defending in first-half stoppage time to cancel out Breel Embolo’s superb headed opener.
It rescued the Three Lions' from a poor show, with Arsenal's Ben White vulnerable in central defence and the visitors lively
Click on our match blog HERE for updates from Wembley in this friendly.
- Ian Tuckey
LATEST: England 0 Switzerland 1
Breel Embolo's bullet header from a fine cross put the Swiss in front from one of the first moments of real quality.
Arsenal centre-back Ben White should arguably have done much better as he seemed to get stuck underneath the ball.
Click on our match blog HERE for updates from Wembley in this friendly.
- Ian Tuckey
LIVE: England 0 Switzerland 0
Our LIVE MATCH BLOG will have blow-by-blow updates.
Click HERE for updates from Wembley as the Three Lions, in their changed blue kit, feel their way into this friendly.
- Ian Tuckey
Mount starts for England
Crystal Palace central defender Marc Guehi and Southampton right-back Kyle Walker-Peters make their England debuts in this evening's friendly with Switzerland.
Manchester United skipper Harry Kane is only a sub, with Chelsea's Mason Mount now one of the Three Lions' more experienced starters.
Palace's huge input also includes on-loan Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher earning his second cap and Tyrick Mitchell being a sub.
Arsenal anchorman Granit Xhaka and ex-Liverpool playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri start for the visitors.
England XI: Pickford, Walker-Peters, Guehi, Stones, Coady, Shaw, Gallagher, Henderson, Mount, Foden, Kane.
Switzerland XI: Omlin, Widmer, Akanji, Frei, Embolo, Freuler, Xhaka, Steffen, Rodriguez, Vargas, Shaqiri.
- Ian Tuckey
Barca warn Chelsea & Utd target Dembele
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has issued Chelsea transfer target Ousmane Dembele – also linked with Manchester United – a blunt warning amid a contract stand-off.
Laporta is still holding talks with Dembele, whose deal with Barca runs out in June, and insists he will have to lower his wage demands if he wishes to stay at the Nou Camp.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the Barca bigwig has told the winger he will have to adapt to the club's new salary scale that is set to come into effect next season.
Laporta also confirmed negotiations are underway with Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Sergi Roberto.
Romano tweeted: "Barcelona president Laporta tells [Mundo Deportivo]: 'We’ve no news for Ousmane Dembele contract.
'If he wants to stay, he will have to adapt to our salary scale for next season. 'Talks are underway with Gavi and Araujo. Sergi Roberto? It’s in the hands of his agent'."
Dembele has been linked with a Premier League move this summer and Chelsea are among the clubs keeping tabs on him.
- Ian Tuckey
Gabriel talks Slo up
Talks between Chelsea and Chicago Fire’s Gabriel Slonina have broken down, according to reports.
The Blues had originally agreed to sign Slonina, 17, for a fee of around £5.5million.
However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the deal recently collapsed due to the sanctions that have been placed on the club by the UK Government.
On Twitter, he announced: “Chelsea were in advanced talks to sign talented Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, born in 2004.
“The plan was to sign Slonina for £5/6m fee, then loan him back to Chicago until 2023.
“Talks have now broken down due to UK sanctions.”
- Alex Cole
Ex-Chelsea Marin announces retirement from football aged 33
Former Chelsea midfielder Marko Marin has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.
Marin, 33, played for 12 clubs during his time as a professional footballer, including Werder Bremen and Sevilla.
He failed to properly establish himself in the Premier League despite winning the Europa League with the Blues.
Credit: Getty Images – Getty Marin rarely had a spot in the starting line-up whilst at Chelsea, so the club decided to loan him out for four consecutive seasons before selling him to Olympiacos in 2016.
The midfielder currently plays for Ferencvaros where he has scored one goal in 13 appearances so far this season.
However, Marin has made it clear that he has no intention to continue playing once the season is over.
- Alex Cole
Shortlisted bidders to meet with Tuchel and Granovskaia
Potential Chelsea buyers will be given the opportunity to hold talks with manager Thomas Tuchel and Marina Granovskaia before a £2.5billion takeover.
Chelsea have whittled down their list of potential buyers to just a handful of consortiums.
The Blues are now set to choose from options that includes a group involving Seb Coe, ex-Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and two American businessmen.
And according to The Times, all parties will be given the opportunity to hold talks with manager Tuchel and director Granovskaia.
Those talks could prove pivotal to swaying who is ultimately named as the preferred bidder.
Granovskaia is close to Abramovich and oversees the club’s transfer business.
The 47-year-old has been a key part of Abramovich’s real inner circle for the best part of two decades.
- Alex Cole
Chicago Fire keeper transfer is barred by sanctions
Talks between Chelsea and Chicago Fire's Gabriel Slonina have broken down, according to reports.
The Blues had originally agreed to sign Slonina, 17, for a fee of around £5.5million.
However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the deal recently collapsed due to the sanctions that have been placed on the club by the UK Government.
On Twitter, he announced: "Chelsea were in advanced talks to sign talented Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, born in 2004.
"The plan was to sign Slonina for £5/6m fee, then loan him back to Chicago until 2023.
"Talks have now broken down due to UK sanctions."
- Alex Cole
Hazard unlikely to play in quarter-final clash
Real Madrid star Eden Hazard is unlikely to be involved in the Champions League quarter-final clash against former club Chelsea.
That is according to The Athletic, who report that Hazard is a doubt for the first leg against the Blues on April 6 at Stamford Bridge due to injury.
The winger is expected to have surgery on his right leg in order to remove a plate, which was implanted after he broke his ankle in March 2020.
Credit: AP Real released the following statement: “In the coming days, our player, Eden Hazard, will undergo surgery to remove the osteosynthesis plate in his right fibula.”
Hazard has been enduring another difficult season marred by injury as he has only made eight starts in LaLiga this season.
The Belgium international has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.
- Joshua Jones
Good morning to Chelsea fans
Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca has also made it on to the shortlist of potential Chelsea owners.
Pagliuca also owns Italian football team Atalanta and is the fourth bidder to make the cut.
He joins Tom Ricketts, Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton in the next round of bidding for the Blues.
However, Tom Ricketts still faces an uphill battle convincing fans he can run the club to their liking.
A statement from the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust read: “The Chelsea Supporters' Trust is grateful to the Ricketts family for meeting with us this week. We challenged them on all the points supporters have raised concerns about.
“However, our concerns about their ability to run an inclusive, successful club on behalf of our diverse supporter base around the world have not yet been allayed.”
But Chelsea’s board – not the Raine Group – will reportedly decide who will become the Blues’ new owner.
The Raine Group have played a key role thus far whittling down the large swathe of wannabe owners down to just four prospects.
But it’s been reported that they are just advising Chelsea’s board which is composed of Marina Granovskaia, Bruce Buck, Eugene Tenenbaum and David Barnard.
The Blues’ owner debacle could be sorted by the end of April, reports claim.
Raine Group have told all potential owners that they may reach a decision over the Blues sale next month, according to the Evening Standard.
And finally, Roman Abramovich may not be around for the sale of the club as he’s allegedly playing the mediator between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his American adversary Joe Biden in Poland.
The oligarch took the train to Poland on Thursday using his Portuguese passport, reports claim.
TVN reporter Jakob Stachowiak said on social media: “Yesterday he came to Poland in secret from Ukraine by the smart train.
“Interestingly, he used a Portuguese passport. Perhaps there will be an informal meeting with the president. Has Putin sent a billionaire?
“The oligarch got to Poland from the territory of Ukraine, where he was allegedly talking to President Volodymir Zelensky.”
- Justin Lawrence
Who will make final decision
Chelsea's board – not the Raine Group will reportedly decide who will becoming the Blues' new owner.
The Raine Group have played a key role thus far whittling down the large swathe of wannabe owners down to just four prospects.
But it's been reported that they are just advising Chelsea's board which is compiled of Marina Granovskaia, Bruce Buck, Eugene Tenenbaum and David Barnard.
- Justin Lawrence
Abramovich plays peacemaker
Roman Abramovich has reportedly travelled to Poland to mediate between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.
The oligarch took the train to Poland on Thursday using his Portuguese passports, reports claim.
TVN reporter Jakob Stachowiak said on social media: "Yesterday he came to Poland in secret from Ukraine by the smart train.
"Interestingly, he used a Portuguese passport. Perhaps there will be an informal meeting with the president. Has Putin sent a billionaire?
"The oligarch got to Poland from the territory of Ukraine, where he was allegedly talking to President Volodymir Zelensky."
- Justin Lawrence
Fourth to go
Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca has also made it onto the shortlist.
Pagliuca also owns Italian football team Atalanta and is the fourth bidder to make the cut.
He joins Tom Ricketts, Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton in the next round of bidding for the Blues.
- Justin Lawrence
Ricketts ongoing battle
Tom Ricketts still faces an uphill battle convincing fans he can run the club to their liking.
A statement from the Chelsea Supporters' Trust read: "The Chelsea Supporters Trust is grateful to the Ricketts family for meeting with us this week. We challenged them on all the points supporters have raised concerns about.
"However, our concerns about their ability to run an inclusive, successful club on behalf of our diverse supporter base around the world have not yet been allayed."
- Justin Lawrence
Ricketts in next round
Tom Ricketts is through to round two of the Chelsea bidding war after meeting fans on his charm offensive to win their backing.
The controversial American was notified on Friday night that his family’s offer has made it onto the shortlist of candidates to buy the £3billion-rated Premier League side.
And Ricketts is now on his way back to the US following talks with supporters’ groups in London aimed at calming fears over an historic racism storm.
- Justin Lawrence
Alonso wants La Liga transfer
Marcos Alonso has admitted that he would like to return to LaLiga one day.
The Chelsea defender will have just one year remaining on his current contract this summer.
Quizzed about a potential transfer while on international duty, the Spaniard said: "I would love to play in LaLiga, all my life I have wanted to play and be here in Spain, but the circumstances have been different and not everything has depended on me.
"At the moment I am focused on this season and what has to be, will be."
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