NICK CANDY may have boosted his Chelsea buyout rivals by holding private talks with club chiefs.
The London-based property developer reportedly met Blues‘ chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia.
Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella claims the Chelsea season-ticket holder held discussions at Sunday’s 1-0 win over Newcastle.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich hopes to sell the club by the end of the month.
Government sanctions against Abramovich make any sale hard.
But Chelsea hope their special licence to keep playing will soon be amended to allow a takeover.
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A consortium led by LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly is rated the current frontrunner.
But the Saudi Media Group are thought to have bid £2.7bn – £300million below Abramovich’s asking price.
In all, 200-plus investors are said to have shown interest, including about 30 possible buyers.
Candy put together his own consortium to successfully raise funds.
He held talks with another Blues’ fan – ex-Liverpool and British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton.
Candy has promised to give Chelsea fans a seat on the board should he buy out Abramovich.
Meanwhile, Buck has tried to reassure Premier League rivals that the Blues would not have a ‘competitive edge’ if Abramovich wipes out the £1.5bn they owe him.
The Telegraph say Buck told other top-flight chiefs the benefits of selling a debt-free club ‘far outweighed any downsides.
And he repeated Chelsea’s line that any profits from a buyout would go to charity.
