Chelsea will resume Stamford Bridge redevelopment plans — report

All sources and reports close to Chelsea and Abramovich continue to deny that Abramovich has any plans whatsoever of selling the club, but the Mail take it a step further, even, and claim that the Chelsea owner is in fact looking to resume the recently shelved stadium redevelopment plans.

Abramovich putting the Stamford Bridge rebuild on (temporary?) hold earlier this summer has certainly fueled a lot of these notions of selling, but hiring a consultancy firm and seeking outside investment are steps one can take in either pursuit.

The Mail’s report does not specify exactly when the work on the new stadium will resume, but it does hint at something starting sooner rather than later as “staff at Stamford Bridge” have already been informed — staff who may thus be a probable source for this report from Matt Lawton.

Before the halt, Chelsea had been planning on starting pre-work at the site next summer (2019), moving out the following season (2020), and coming back four years later (2024). If the planning can resume soon, perhaps this delay can be absorbed into the schedule.

Either way, the plans restarting is as good a news as spending money in the transfer market — both showing Abramovich’s continuing commitment to the club.

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