Kieran Maguire reveals new hurdle in £80m Chelsea plan - 'huge'

It will be a 'huge challenge' for Todd Boehly to convince Chelsea pitch owners to move the club to a brand new stadium.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Boehly's stadium plans at the London club.

Chelsea have finalised an £ 80million deal this week to buy a plot of land adjacent to Stamford Bridge. [Daily Mail]

As revealed by Football Insider on Friday (20 September), the Chelsea hierarchy are ready to begin their expansion of Stamford Bridge after completing the deal.

Boehly and the Chelsea board have discussed both expanding the existing Stamford Bridge or building an entirely new stadium as the club looks to boost its matchday revenue.

However, Maguire believes the construction of a new stadium would be a challenge for Boehly as he'd have to convince the pitch owners that the club should move their home ground.

"If Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly had not done their homework about property prices in swanky West London, then that would have been very remiss of them," Maguire told Football Insider's Sean Fisher.

"I think they will have been aware of the expectations.

"This £80million purchase opens new opportunities for the club and gives them flexibility.

"They can either go down the expansion route or decide to move elsewhere.

"What they would then have is a much bigger plot of land which they could then sell to a third party.

"I think the huge challenge for Chelsea would be that if they do their sums and decide that Stamford Bridge isn't for them, they then have to persuade Chelsea pitch owners to give the green light to move the club.

"Because Chelsea pitch owners effectively have the name so that would be a separate issue."

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