Chelsea are driving a hard bargain in negotiations with their young players.
The Independent says Chelsea are taking a hard line over contract negotiations with a number of their academy stars including Gaël Kakuta and Fabio Borini who are still waiting to learn what kind of terms they will be offered when their existing professional deals expire at the end of the season.
The move marks a departure from the days when the club offered lucrative deals to those players that their scouts had identified as among the best in the world.
The emerging young star Jacob Mellis, 19, signed from Sheffield United's academy in 2007, has a contract that expires at the end of the season and he has been told that he will be offered only a one-year deal. The same goes for Borini, 19, an Italy Under-21 striker signed from Bologna, who has made eight first-team appearances and has so far refused to sign a one-year contract.
