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According to reports, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is ‘close to an agreement’ to sell his stake in the Premier League club.

American businessman Boehly was part of the consortium alongside Clearlake Capital that completed the Chelsea takeover in 2022 for about £4.25bn.

Since that takeover, Boehly and his fellow owners have spent well in excess of £1bn on transfers, but it would be fair to say the outcomes have been mixed.

Chelsea could, and arguably should, have won the Premier League title since 2022 had that investment been managed properly, but instead they failed even to qualify for Europe last season as the club slipped into chaos, with the hierarchy placing too much trust in youth at the expense of experience.

For that reason, it is no surprise that Boehly and Co. have become unpopular at Stamford Bridge, while speculation has continued that the co-owners have clashed over the way Chelsea should be run.

To their credit, however, Chelsea have made major progress in recent months after appointing Xabi Alonso and reshaping their transfer approach towards more immediate success.

That shift is already delivering results on the pitch, and there is now set to be a restructuring behind the scenes, with Boehly expected to depart.

Notably, Boehly admitted in an interview last year that he could leave Chelsea in the near future.

“We have to think long-term about what we’re trying to accomplish,” Boehly said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out.

“That’s going to be where we’re either aligned or we ultimately decide to go different ways.”

Now, talkSPORT reports that Boehly is joining fellow co-owner Mark Walter in being ‘close to reaching an agreement’ to sell their Chelsea stakes to Clearlake Capital.

It is understood that ‘advanced talks’ are taking place, although the report adds that the ‘club valuation is below the £5bn that Boehly and Walter originally wanted’.

Alongside those details, the report also says they are still set to make a profit, outlines the position of another co-owner regarding a sale, and states how large Clearlake Capital’s holding would become once the transactions are completed.

The report explains:

‘Sources close to Walter confirm a profit on the £2.35bn valuation the consortium collectively paid in May 2022. Boehly and Walter own close to 26 per cent of Chelsea, meaning Clearlake will increase their stake from 61.5 per cent to more than 85 per cent. Hansjorg Wyss is another co-owner, but his intentions are currently unclear.’