Chelsea's proposed takeover has taken a huge step towards completion after the Premier League confirmed the sale was approved on Tuesday.
The Blues agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss for £4.25billion earlier in May.
The takeover, which promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, briefly appeared to be in doubt due to suggestions Roman Abramovich was unhappy with the sale structure.
Abramovich denied that to be the case, and the deal appears to be nearing a resolution, though the sale still needs to be approved by the UK government.
The proceeds of the sale are expected to be donated to the victims of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A Premier League statement released on Tuesday read: "The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake consortium.
"The purchase remains subject to the government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.
"The Board has applied the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test (OADT) to all prospective directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence.
"The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
"Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover."
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Fulham: Jimenez penalty seals Cottagers win
Fulham brought Nottingham Forest's unbeaten start to the Premier League season to a halt with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the City Ground.
There was very little to choose between two sides separated by a mere point at kick-off, but Raul Jimenez’s second-half penalty, awarded for Murillo's foul on Andreas Pereira, proved decisive.
Forest had started brightly with Taiwo Awoniyi missing an early chance, while Chris Wood saw a potential opener disallowed for offside following a VAR review in the 25th minute.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo's team failed to find a spark without the suspended Morgan Gibbs-White as Fulham's own impressive start to 2024/25 continued.
The result leaves Forest ninth in the table with nine points, with Fulham leapfrogging their hosts to move into sixth on 11 points.
Data Debrief: Fulham maintain unbeaten run
Fulham are undefeated in their last five games in the Premier League since going down 1-0 at Manchester United on the opening matchday.
They last enjoyed a streak of this length between December 13, 2020 and January 10, 2021.
Jimenez has now scored three goals in his last three games, maintaining his good record against Forest, with three goals in two matches against them.
Chelsea 4-2 Brighton: Palmer makes Premier League history as Maresca's side fight back
Cole Palmer made Premier League history as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 in a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer became the first player to score four goals before half-time in a single Premier League game, helping Enzo Maresca’s side record their fourth straight victory in all competitions.
Brighton took an early lead through Georginio Rutter's header, but were powerless as Palmer took command of the contest.
His remarkable quadruple came in the space of 20 minutes - including a penalty and free-kick - with Carlos Baleba's strike to make it 3-2 swiftly cancelled out by Chelsea's talisman.
Nicolas Jackson and Palmer went close after the break for the hosts, who also had a Marc Cucurella goal disallowed for offside, but they held out for another victory.
The Blues climb to third place, a point behind pacesetters Manchester City and Arsenal, while Brighton drop to eighth after suffering their first defeat of the season.
Data Debrief: History-making Palmer does the damage once more
Palmer completed his third Premier League hat-trick - the joint-most by any Chelsea player along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard - in the space of only nine minutes and 45 seconds.
The Blues forward also hit the post, was denied by the offside flag and then slotted a decent opportunity wide after the break, so we could have been saluting the first player to score six or more goals in a single Premier League game.
His fourth goal was set up by Sancho, who became the third Chelsea player after Eden Hazard (2012) and Cesc Fabregas (2014) to provide an assist in each of his first three Premier League appearances for the club.
As for Brighton, they are now without a victory in each of their last nine Premier League visits to London, since a 3-0 win over Arsenal in May 2023.
Palmer makes Premier League history with four-goal first half in Chelsea win
Cole Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in the first half of a game on Saturday, as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer netted all of Chelsea's goals in a game featuring six first-half goals and none after the break, with Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba on target for the visitors.
No player had ever previously scored four times in the first half of a Premier League match, while Palmer's first three goals came within a span of just nine minutes and 46 seconds.
Only five other players have previously scored a quicker hat-trick in the competition, with Sadio Mane's remarkable two-minute, 56-second treble for Southampton against Aston Villa in 2015 the fastest.
Gabriel Jesus previously held the record for the quickest time to net four times in a Premier League game, doing so by the 53rd minute as Manchester City trounced Watford 5-1 in April 2022.
There were 19 minutes and 57 seconds between Palmer's first goal and his fourth, with Jermaine Defoe holding the record for the swiftest four-goal haul in Premier League history, needing 17 minutes and 56 seconds for Tottenham versus Wigan Athletic in 2009.
Things could have gone even better for Palmer, who also struck the post with a dinked effort and saw a close-range finish chalked off for offside with Chelsea 1-0 down in the first half.
Palmer has now scored three Premier League hat-tricks for Chelsea, the joint-most of any Blues player in the competition's history, level with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
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