Chelsea are now likely to go the majority of the season without having a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal in place.

That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the value of any potential deal is diminishing every day that passes by without an agreement.

Chelsea are the only top-flight side without a front-of-shirt deal for this season after their previous agreement with Clearlake-linked outfit Infinite Athlete expired.

Man City took legal action against the Premier League regarding the associated party transactions (APT) rules currently in place at an arbitration hearing in June.

Both sides have claimed a victory after the decision was published, where two aspects of the rules were deemed unlawful.

The 20 top-flight clubs held a meeting on 22 October to discuss the next steps, but no new rules are currently in place, potentially raising an issue if Chelsea were to agree a shirt sponsor deal with an associated party.

Borson admitted time is of the essence regarding commercial deals due to the money at stake.

He told Football Insider: “The big outstanding sponsorship in the league is Chelsea.

“It may be that they don’t have anybody lined up, or don’t have an associated party lined up.

“But if they were to get an associated party, like last year, Chelsea will need that to happen as soon as possible, otherwise, the value of it is diminishing every day.

“To be honest, I think now that we are getting to November, you would probably think Chelsea are going to go most of the season without a front-of-shirt sponsor in any event.

“But it’s just an example of how time is of the essence in terms of commercial deals and we don’t know what the rules are, nobody knows.”

In other news, Cole Palmer’s two-word stance on sensational Man City return revealed.

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