The Ricketts family have been shortlisted to become Chelsea owners despite public concern about their potential ownership.
Their collective bid was blasted by the public, including Blues fans, after anti-Muslim comments made by family patriarch Joe Ricketts in 2019 emerged.
Todd Boehly's consortium and another American group fronted by Lord Coe are also among the frontrunners to take over from Roman Abramovich.
The consortium led by Todd Boehly have been informed they have made the shortlist of preferred bidders to buy Chelsea.
The group led by Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Coe - but heavily funded by Crystal Palace shareholders David Blitzer and Josh Harris - have also made the second round.