American billionaire Todd Boehly's consortium remains among the frontrunners to buy Chelsea.
The Daily Mail says 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 - are also understood to have made the second round.
The £3billion battle to buy Chelsea has intensified with Roman Abramovich's sales advisers dismissing several bidders from the process.
The Raine Group, the finance firm running the auction for the club, are understood to have told a number of would-be buyers — including New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, the Saudi Media Group and Turkish businessman Muhsin Bayrak — that their bids will not make it to the next stage.
While Raine have yet to produce an official shortlist the field appears to have narrowed considerably and looks like being dominated by American billionaires who already own sports franchises in the United States.
British property developer Nick Candy, whose Blue Football Consortium contains backing from South Korean financial institutions and a tie-up with Gianluca Vialli's investment fund, is hopeful of staying in the race, although there was uncertainty over the status of a bid from the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise.
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