Chelsea have sacked FIFTEEEN of their international scouting staff, it has been revealed.

The Mail on Sunday says Chelsea have axed nearly two-thirds of their international scouting staff in the first sign that billionaire owner Roman Abramovich may be losing patience with his club's towering levels of debt - including the £578 million that is owed to him.

In all, 15 of Chelsea's 25-strong global scouting network were made redundant on Friday, including former German international Rainer Bonhoff and others earning up to £100,000 a year.

A Chelsea spokesman confirmed the redundancies, adding: "We are restructuring our scouting network in order to re-focus priorities on key targets and in key territories."