Chelsea will host all of the shortlisted bidders to buy the club before a deadline for improved offers which has been set on or around April 11.

Telegraph Sport can reveal the next phase of the sale process, sent to the shortlisted bidders by New York merchant bank Raine over the weekend, which includes:

• An April 11 deadline for second bids.
• The chance to meet Chelsea department heads.
• A tour of the club’s facilities.
• The aim of closing a sale by the end of April.

Once the final offers have been collected, a preferred buyer will be selected for Government approval with the intention of a deal being completed by the end of April.

That gives Joshua Harris and David Blitzer, who are behind Sir Martin Broughton’s offer, and Stephen Pagliuca, whose bid was shortlisted, just a month to divest or dilute their shares in Crystal Palace and Atalanta or face elimination.

Harris and Blitzer currently own stakes in Palace, despite funding the bid fronted by Broughton, while Pagliuca’s 55 per cent stake in Atalanta presents a problem because of the potential for both Chelsea and the Italian team to play in the Champions League.

With Raine confirming to shortlisted bidders that they will take improved offers, it is anticipated Chelsea’s final sale price will push above £2.5billion.

Those offers must be submitted on or around Monday, April 11, which gives bidders two weeks to quiz club officials such as chairman Bruce Buck, directors Eugene Tenenbaum and Marina Granovskaia, chief executive Guy Lawrence and head coach Thomas Tuchel, and get a behind-the-scenes look at Chelsea’s facilities.

It means Americans Todd Boehly, Pete Ricketts, Harris and Pagliuca are likely to fly to London to hold personal meetings and see the club with their own eyes, although none of the groups confirmed this to Telegraph Sport.

The shortlisted bidders have been given the green light to set up those meetings and tours, which could start as early as this week.

Having only so far seen last year’s accounts, groups are also likely to be given a more up-to-date and in-depth look into the club’s finances although Chelsea are believed to reserve the right to refuse to answer questions.

Chelsea have three games between now and April 11, against Brentford in the Premier League, Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League and away at Southampton.

There appears to be some flexibility in the deadline, with bidders told to have their offers submitted on or around that date, which falls the day before Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final second-leg trip to Madrid.

A preferred buyer may well have been chosen by the time Chelsea face Palace in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on April 17, with confusion currently surrounding who Harris and Blitzer will be backing at that point.

It is over a week since Broughton insisted the identities of his investors from “all around the world” would be made transparent and yet, even with his bid now shortlisted, they are still to be confirmed.

Having become a surprise addition to the shortlist, Pagliuca is yet to confirm whether or not he is working with a consortium of investors or provide clarity over his plans for Atalanta now he has made a bid for Chelsea.

Sources close to the co-owner of the Boston Celtics claim he is prevented from making public the details of his bid by non-disclosure agreements.

Even though Raine and Chelsea have been given the details of the Harris and Pagliuca offers, the mystery and uncertainty surrounding their current ability to complete a deal leaves Boehly as the frontrunner of the shortlisted bidders.

The Ricketts family have made it clear that they can afford the extra £1bn commitment to invest in the stadium and squad that Chelsea are demanding, but the group remain targets of a #notoRicketts campaign from fans on social media.

That leaves the Ricketts in a race against time to somehow turn around public perception with Raine confirming to Telegraph Sport over the weekend that the views of Chelsea’s supporters will be considered during the final process.

Chelsea fans were outraged that the Ricketts were advanced to the shortlist, despite the emergence of racist emails sent by the father of the family Joe and comments from other members of the family.

A spokesperson for the Raine Group told Telegraph Sport: “Our commission is tied to both proceeds and the capital contributed to build and run the club for its future success. The process is moving along as we anticipated and will accelerate from here, with robust bidding as we seek an optimal outcome for the club and the fans.”

Raine have refused to confirm whether or not any of their fee, which is set to run into the tens of millions, will be donated to charity with all the proceeds of Chelsea’s sale going to good causes because of the sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich.