Frank Arnesen's future at Chelsea could depend on the success of the club's youngsters in the coming weeks.

The Times says Carlo Ancelotti is preparing to put his neck on the line by trusting Chelsea's title challenge to a pair of inexperienced strikers in Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini over the coming weeks, but if all goes wrong, it is likely to be the head of Arnesen on the Stamford Bridge chopping block.

Fortunately for the Dane, Chelsea are in possession of their best crop of youngsters since he joined the club, with some of his expensive scouting procedures threatening to pay dividends. In addition to Danny Sturridge, Fabio Borini and Gael Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma, Sam Hutchison and Nemanja Matic have made first-team appearances this season and could feature in next month's FA Cup third-round tie at home to Watford.