US baseball billionaire 'plotting new Chelsea bid' – despite claims from Abramovich club isn't for sale

Billionaire US financier Todd Boehly is reportedly set to renew his efforts to buy Chelsea, despite insistence from owner Roman Abramovich that the club is not for sale.

Boehly, whose personal wealth is estimated to be in excess of $6 billion and who is part owner of the LA Dodgers baseball franchise, is already believed to have had one approach for the London club rejected.

However, he remains undeterred in his quest to buy a Premier League team and is said to be determined to acquire Chelsea as his prime target, according to the Telegraph.      

That is despite officials at the London club consistently insisting that it is not for sale, while even if Abramovich did sell, it is believed he now values Chelsea at around $4 billion.

Potential buyers were initially set on alert when the Russian billionaire suffered issues securing a UK visa in the wake of the Skripal spy poisoning saga last year.

Abramovich has not attended a game at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home ever since, instead directing operations from afar.

The visa woes also coincided with the club pulling the plug on a state-of-the-art new stadium project, citing an "unfavorable financial climate."

READ MORE: Chelsea put stadium plans on hold amid Abramovich visa woes

Despite those problems, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has asserted that Abramovich, 53, is "committed" to the club he bought in 2003 and turned into a Premier League powerhouse.  

That does not appeared to have deterred Boehly, who according to the Telegraph is willing to bide his time before making a new approach, with an important date potentially being March 31 of next year, when the planning permission for Chelsea's new stadium ends. 

What happens with that project could affect the value of the club, and may be the opportune time for Boehly to step in again.  

Educated at the London School of Economics, Boehly is chairman of the Eldridge Industries investment group, and would have the financial wherewithal to make a significant bid.

He told Bloomberg in September that a Premier League club is "the best product in the world," but that "the billion-pound question is the price." 

Among others rumored to be keen on buying Chelsea was the UK's richest man, chemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, although his interest has reportedly cooled in recent months.