Roman Abramovich will meet with the Chelsea board in the coming days to consider who to sell to.
The four prospective bidders to buy the club have been given a deadline of Thursday to submit their final offers before a preferred bidder is chosen.
The Times reports that Abramovich will meet with the Chelsea board to decide on the preferred bidder despite no proceeds from the sale going to him.
Government sanctions on the Russian oligarch permit that the proceeds will instead go into a frozen account.
A special licence has been issued to the club so that the sale can go through, with Chelsea also allowed to carry on operating despite the sanctions on their owner.
The report adds that the board are not looking to necessarily select the highest bidder and will instead prioritise the guardianship of the club.
The four bidders who passed through the first stage of the takeover process have been given a deadline of Thursday to submit their final offers to the Raine Group, who are handling the sale, before the preferred bidder is presented to the club next week.
Those bidders are Chicago Cubs owners, the Ricketts family, a consortium led by Todd Boehly, a bid helmed by Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.
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