Chelsea owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are close to buying a stake in French club Strasbourg, according to The Guardian.

Chelsea owners are keen on kickstarting a multi-club project with Boehly recently saying that a multi-club project “show pathways for our young superstars to get on to the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time”.

Chelsea also looked at buying Bordeaux, Lyon and Sochaux.

The report adds: “Gaining influence at Strasbourg would give Chelsea a footing in a country that produces some of the best players in the world. They would also have a way of giving experience to young players who could be brought to Stamford Bridge at a later date. Chelsea were approached for comment.

“The practice has been followed by Manchester City’s parent company, City Football Group, which has a number of satellite clubs around the world. Brighton’s owner, Tony Bloom, owns the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. Kaoru Mitoma, who has been outstanding for Brighton this season, thrived on loan at Union SG last season.

“Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, recently hinted at relaxing restrictions on clubs with the same owner playing in the same European competitions. A change in the regulations would be a boost for Chelsea’s owners.”