Liverpool and Manchester United have reportedly barred Chelsea scouts from attending their academy matches. In what appears to be a tit-for-tat response to the Blues’ own actions, there is a stand-off.
Although no formal ban has been imposed by either club, it’s suggested that tensions have led to accreditation requests for academy games being turned down. Over the past month, scouts from Liverpool and United have been denied access to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, with the situation seemingly reciprocal.
The Athletic reports that discussions were held last week to try and resolve the issue, but no agreement has been reached yet. According to Premier League rules, scouts should be allowed to attend academy matches if they’ve informed both clubs involved before noon on the last working day prior to the match and can provide valid ID.
It’s speculated that United and Liverpool view these actions as a reaction to Chelsea losing Rio Ngumoha over the summer. The 16-year-old midfielder, who is highly rated, chose not to stay with the West London side when offered a contract and also attracted interest from Manchester United.
He has already played in the UEFA Youth League for Liverpool this season, leaving Chelsea disappointed at losing such a promising player. Despite passing the Premier League’s five-step review process, which ensures no rules are broken when a youth player moves from one academy to another, the transfer was said to have been a challenging one, reports the Mirror.
Chelsea are now described as the first to limit access, although this point is under dispute. Additionally, there’s ongoing debate about whether Liverpool have already turned down requests from Chelsea, which could lead to similar actions from the Blues moving forward. This leaves the newly restructured academy leadership at Stamford Bridge in a challenging spot.
With Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, both key figures who significantly contributed to the club’s development success over two decades, having left earlier this year, it’s a period of adjustment for Chelsea’s youth setup. Glenn van der Kraan joins as the new technical director of the academy, after being recruited from Manchester City, while Jack Francis was promoted internally to become the academy football operations director.
“After 30 years working at Chelsea, I feel it is the right time for me to have some time off and take a break from a job that I have put so much time into,” Bath commented in July. “I intend to rest and have some time away from the game, however I will continue working over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition for the organisation.
“As an academy, we have enjoyed fantastic backing from the club throughout my time here, without which none of our success would have been possible.” The acclaimed coach also expressed immense gratitude.
“I would like to thank every single person – player, parent, colleague, supporter – who has been on this journey with us. We achieved everything we could possibly have dreamed of – five Youth Cups in a row, countless debuts, homegrown players helping the team win the Champions League – and we did it together.”
He also gave a special mention to his long-time collaborator, saying: “In particular, I have to mention Jim Fraser, who has assisted me for the past 20 years and played such an important role in everything we have achieved.”
