Chelsea are close to agreeing the second biggest Premier League shirt sponsorship ever with Turkish Airlines. A £25million-a-year deal is expected to be finalised by Christmas.

The negotiations with the big spending airline, famous for its Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant TV adverts, were first revealed by Sports Agenda last September.

The money would be a significant advance on the £18m-a-year Samsung currently pay to have their name on Chelsea shirts and would propel the club above Liverpool and Arsenal in the PL shirt sponsorship table.

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Launch: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho (left) and then Chief Executive Peter Kenyon at launch in 2005

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wants his club — hot favourites to be crowned champions — to be as dominant on football’s commercial side as they are on the pitch.

But the west London club, already deep in talks with Turkish Airlines before former Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow was brought in to revamp the commercial operation, still lag well behind Manchester United.

The Old Trafford shirt sponsorship with Chevrolet, that began this season, is worth £53m annually.

Barcelona have had their shirts sponsored by Turkish Airlines in the past

Spreading their wings: Turkish Airlines linked up with Manchester United

Clare Balding could end up spending just 20 days a year presenting racing on Channel 4 when she finally agrees a new contract to accommodate her other broadcasting options.

That would mean Balding (below) hosting only the Derby, Grand National, Cheltenham and Royal Ascot.

Meanwhile Lydia Hislop, Racing UK’s combative presenter, who resigned from the Horserace Writers’ Association after being criticised at an awards lunch, is on the broadcaster-of-year shortlist despite only HWA members being eligible.

Clare Balding could end up spending far less time presenting racing on Channel 4 when she agrees terms

FIFA plan to end live video streaming of the post-executive committee meeting press conferences because of the pounding that president Sepp Blatter subsequently receives on social media.

Strangely, online ridicule has not dissuaded Blatter from standing for a fifth term next May.

Meanwhile, it looks like the PR agency who get the job of helping FIFA in the build-up to Russia 2018 — Webber Shandwick are favourites — will face a tough task.

The video launching the tournament logo has already stirred up trouble by showing the disputed Crimean peninsula as part of Russia. FIFA were angry but the Kremlin were said to be very relaxed.

BBC Radio 5 Live, much to the angst of its rugby production team, will give commentary priority today to Manchester United v Hull City, a run-of-the-mill Premier League match.

England’s Test against Australia is relegated to 5 Live Sports Extra. However there have been assurances that Six Nations and Rugby World Cup games will be back on 5 Live.

Shaky start for Patel

The England Cricket Board’s choice to succeed commercial director John Perera, who brought in $1billion worth of TV rights and sponsorships, has already ruffled a few feathers.

Sanjay Patel allegedly made an insensitive comment about committing suicide while on a panel at the Business of Cricket Awards. Patel was responding to a Somerset representative who admitted he was depressed about falling attendances and participation.

There were more than 200 people at the event, but an ECB spokesman claimed they heard nothing untoward.

The England team are on tour in Sri Lanka and held a two-minute silence for Phillip Hughes on Saturday

The RFU offer to the International Rugby Board to win the right to host next year’s World Cup included an £80million guarantee and half of the 2.3m tickets being sold by the IRB to competing nations, sponsors and corporate hospitality.

So although ER (England Rugby) 2015 have only 140,000 of their allocation still to shift, tens of thousands of seats are likely to be returned by the IRB. That will leave ER 2015 to sell the returns at late notice — some for supposedly sell-out matches.