Relations between Chelsea and two of its biggest Premier League rivals have reportedly deteriorated, leading to scouts being banned from youth games.
Recently, the Blues are said to have rejected requests from Liverpool and Manchester United scouts to watch games at Cobham training center.
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According to The Athletic, a Chelsea source revealed that Liverpool have also rejected the West London club’s accreditation.
However, Reds sources refute these claims and state that no requests have been rejected this season.
They also said that future Chelsea scouts who apply will most likely be rejected in retaliation for past behavior.
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Premier League rules state that clubs should allow other scouts to attend academy matches, provided the scout notifies both clubs involved no later than 12pm on the last working day before the match and can provide valid identification.
This feud was reportedly sparked by the Blues losing 16-year-old attacker Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool in early 2024.
Ngumoha was considered one of the best talents to emerge from Cobham in recent years, but left the Blues to join Liverpool in September after also being approached by Man United.
None of the rules of the Premier League’s five-stage review process were broken, but the transfer is said to have left a bad taste in the mouth of Chelsea’s youth system, which has undergone major changes.
Youth development directors Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, who worked at the start of Roman Abramovich’s tenure, both left the club last summer, while Glenn van der Kraan was recruited from Manchester City to become the academy’s technical director.
Chelsea have also poached Delroy Ebanks from Newcastle as head of academy recruitment and is a key influence on the new structure.
No club has suggested a formal ban on the rival scouts, with all three clubs holding meetings last week to sort out the situation, although it is claimed no agreement has been reached.
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The structure of youth football is volatile. In Premier League 2, the official under-21 league, Liverpool have suffered just one defeat in six games and are in second place behind current leaders Man City only on goal difference.
Chelsea and United are both struggling with three defeats after six games.
However, clubs’ fortunes change when you look at the U18s – the level at which Ngumoha is currently playing.
Man United’s U18 team has a 100 percent win rate so far, while Chelsea are ninth in the Southern League with two wins from five games.
Liverpool sit last in the Northern League (13th) after losing five of six games.