COULD BE BLUE Chelsea £3bn takeover cut down to TWO bidders.

EB COE is among the frontrunners as the race to buy Chelsea hots up.

The Olympic track legend and diehard Blues fan is part of a consortium going head-to-head with American Todd Boehly.

Several bidders were told on Thursday they had not made the shortlist to take over at the crisis-hit Premier League giants.

They included former US diplomat Woody Johnson, the Saudi Media Group, London finance firm Aethel and colourful Turkish investor Muhsin Bayrak.

A controversial bid by Chicago Cubs’ owner Tom Ricketts has been opposed by some fans after historic Islamaphobic emails from a member of the family resurfaced.

The whittling down of contenders is expected to continue on Friday with hopes a sale of £3billion-rated Chelsea can go through by the end of this month.

Boehly and his partner Hansjorg Wyss are emerging as favourites to become preferred bidder in a takeover battle which has rocked the sporting world.