Chelsea sanction Liverpool and Manchester United after transfer leaves them furious

Relations between Chelsea and two of their biggest Premier League rivals have reportedly deteriorated, leading to scouts being banned from youth matches.

Recently, the Blues are said to have rejected requests for Liverpool and manchester united scouts to watch matches at the Cobham training centre.

A Chelsea source, according to The Athleticrevealed that Liverpool have also rejected the west London club's accreditation.

However, Reds sources refute those claims and say no requests have been turned down this season.

They also said any Chelsea Explorers who apply in the future will likely be rejected to match the previous behavior.

first division The rules state that clubs must allow other scouts to attend academy matches, as long as the scout notifies both clubs involved no later than noon on the last business day before the match and can present valid identification.

This dispute allegedly originated when the Blues lost 16-year-old attacker Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool in early 2024.

Ngumoha was considered one of the best talents produced in recent years at Cobham, but left the Blues to join Liverpool in September, having also been approached by Man United.

None of the rules of the Premier League's five-step review process were breached, but the transfer He is said to have left a bad taste in the mouth of Chelsea's youth system, which has undergone major changes.

Youth development leaders Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, who served at the start of Roman Abramovich's tenure, left the club last summer, while Glenn van der Kraan was recruited from city ​​of manchester as technical director of the academy.

Chelsea also poached Delroy Ebanks from Newcastle to be their head of academy recruitment and he is a key influencer in the new structure.

No club has put forward a formal ban on rival scouts, with the three clubs meeting last week to resolve 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 are flying with just one defeat in six games, putting them in second place only on goal difference behind current leaders Man City.

Chelsea and United struggle with three defeats each after six games.

However, the clubs' fortunes change when looking at the under-18 level, the level at which Ngumoha currently plays.

Man United's under-18 team boasts a 100 per cent winning record so far, while Chelsea sit ninth in the southern division with two wins from five games.

Liverpool are in last place, 13th, in the northern division, having lost five of six games.