Chelsea have assured manager Luiz Felipe Scolari there will be a bumper transfer budget available to him in the summer.

The Guardian says Scolari has been informed that the club intend to increase spending markedly on players during the summer to end the period of frugality - ordered by the billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich - which has so far made the £8m Deco the only player Scolari has paid money for since he replaced Avram Grant in the summer.

Chelsea's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, also offered his support to Scolari while playing down the decrease in the club's spending power and denying Abramovich's interest in Chelsea is waning.

"We have taken sound financial decisions recently regarding trimming costs," he said. "We are not generally in the market for players at present as the best players are not usually available mid-season and it takes new players time to adapt.

"He [Scolari] has said consistently that he doesn't want random replacements if we can't get the players he identified. We have a long-term plan with him and will build on what we have achieved so far."