Chelsea fury over Josh Mc Eachren

Chelsea are on course for a huge row with former sporting director Frank Arnesen over the future of teenage prodigy Josh McEachran.

They now face a fight to hang on to midfielder McEachran as Arnesen’s interest has alerted Europe’s top clubs to his potential availability amid the chaos at Stamford Bridge. It was announced that Arnesen was leaving his post at Chelsea in November and he agreed a deal to take up a similar role at German club Hamburg once his contract expired at the end of the season.

But just days after officially starting his new job as Hamburg’s director of sport, it has emerged Arnesen plans to take advantage of his former Chelsea contacts and intimate knowledge he gleaned at Stamford Bridge to target a move for McEachran.

Following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea are without a manager and have not yet replaced Arnesen, making it difficult for the club to make big decisions on players.

Chelsea are without a manager following Carlo Ancelotti's sacking

McEachran, 18, has been hailed as one of the country’s brightest young stars and won Chelsea’s Young-Player-of-the-Year award after making 17 appearances for the first team this season.

But he has not been tied down to a long-term deal and Arnesen has effectively made that clear to clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona by telling German sources that the player is on his wanted list.

England youth star McEachran signed his first professional contract with Chelsea, worth about £6,000 a week, last summer. But that has only two years to run and, after his Premier League and Champions League debuts, it was decided that McEachran should be rewarded with a new deal including a substantial pay rise, tieing him to the club for the next five years.