Chelsea sale: Secret meeting, last-minute investors and stadium plans -- what to know ahead of the deadline

Here are four key factors influencing the Chelsea sale as Thursday's final offer deadline looms

Four known groups of bidders, all with American links, must table their final offers to buy Chelsea on Thursday. Each consortium held meetings with senior club executives in London last week and have hastily completed due diligence.

American merchant bank Raine Group are hoping to broker a $4.5 billion sale, but that target price is considered a little high, with sources telling CBS Sports the price will be closer to $4.2 billion.

Todd Boehly (Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner), the Rickets family (owners of the Chicago Cubs), Stephen Pagliuca (Atalanta co-chairman and Boston Celtics co-owner) and Josh Harris and David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers owners) are all vying to replace Roman Abramovich, who was forced to sell Chelsea following U.K. sanctions against him shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.