Relations between Chelsea and two of their biggest Premier League rivals are reported to have soured, leading to scouts being banned from youth games.

Recently the Blues are said to have denied requests from Liverpool and Manchester United scouts to watch matches at the Cobham training centre.

Some rival scouts have been banned by Chelsea from attending their academy gamesGetty

A Chelsea source, according to The Athletic, revealed the west London club have also seen their accreditation rejected by Liverpool.

However sources from the Reds refute those claims, stating no requests have been rejected this season. 

They also said any Chelsea scouts applying in the future will most likely be rejected in order to reciprocate previous behaviour.

Premier League rules state that clubs should allow other scouts to attend academy matches, provided the scout notifies both clubs involved no later than noon on the last working day before the match and can produce valid identification.

This feud supposedly originated from the Blues losing 16-year-old attacker Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool earlier in 2024.

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

None of the rules within the Premier League’s five step review process were broken, but the transfer is said to have left a bad taste in the mouths of the Chelsea youth system, which has undergone major changes.

Youth development leaders Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, who served early in Roman Abramovich’s tenure, both left the club last summer, while Glenn van der Kraan was recruited from Manchester City as academy technical director.

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

No clubs have put forward a formal ban on the rival scouts as all three clubs held meetings last week to resolve the situation, although it is claimed no agreement has been met.

Rio Ngumoha’s transfer is said to be at the centre of the storm brewing behind the scenes between three of the Premier League’s biggest clubsGetty

The 16-year-old forward is now at Liverpool after moving from Chelsea in September 2024Getty

The youth football structure is volatile. In Premier League 2, the official Under-21 league, Liverpool are flying with only one defeat in six matches, placing them second only on goal difference to current leaders Man City.

Chelsea and United are both struggling with three losses each after six games.

However, the fortunes of the clubs change when looking at Under-18s – the level Ngumoha currently plays at.

Man United’s U18s team boast a 100 per cent win record so far, while Chelsea are ninth in the south division with two wins from five games.

Liverpool sit in last place, 13th, in the north division having lost five out of six matches.