Chelsea takeover: Nick Candy vows to follow transfer model if £2bn bid succeeds
Prospective new Chelsea owner Nick Candy has vowed to keep spending money in the transfer market if his Blue Football Consortium's £2bn-plus offer to buy the club from Roman Abramovich is successful.
After two weeks of intense speculation, the deadline has now passed for bids to be made for the club after current owner Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale.
The Russian oligarch put the club on the market after heavy sanctions were imposed on him by the UK government and the European Union for his alleged close ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
Candy is just one of hundreds parties interested in taking over at Chelsea, with the 49-year-old a boyhood fan of the club.
In his formal bid to take control, he has paired up with Hana Financial Investment Company Limited & C&P Sports Limited to make an offer of £2bn - with financial support coming from as far as from South Korea and the United States.
The Raine Group, the US bank put in charge of handling the sale, could make a decision as early as next week, and while they sift through the bids, Candy has moved to reassure Chelsea's supporters of his plans should he be successful.
Here's what he told The Sun about his plans for the transfer market, continuity, the reason he'd paired up with investors from around the world and importance of the fans.
Candy on Chelsea transfer plans
“On the pitch and in the transfer market, it’s simple - follow the model. It's not failed us and it's done really well.
“The last 20 years have been brilliant on the pitch. We’ve played glorious football, won everything, and Roman has done an incredible job with his team.
“If I got hold of the club I wouldn't change Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia. And if they want to stay I would love them to stay. Why change something that is brilliant?
“But I don't think we should end up like Manchester United where we have one rich family that owns Chelsea and there should be a new benchmark of owning football clubs."
Candy on putting together a global consortium
“Why does there have to be one rich family that the fans end up hating because they don't invest? It should be a global consortium of the best-in-class in every part of the world.
“We have 100 million fans in China, over 80 million fans in India and over 70 million in southeast Asia. We have European and American fans so why doesn't the consortium come from each continent? And that's what I've tried to do with my bid.”
Candy on the importance of fans
“We have a chance with Chelsea to put the fans heart and centre of the club. There is no club without the fans.
“In 100 years time there will still be fans whoever the owner is. We are just custodians of the club for a period of time - that is all we are.
“We can actually set the benchmark of how it is done, following the Tracey Crouch recommendations. We want to be the golden standard of how to do it.”