New York Times journalist Rory Smith has called Chelsea‘s current ownership situation “extremely strange”, amid reports that the club’s co-owners are looking buy each other out after a rift formed at board level.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, Smith said: “Todd Boehly thinks that Clearlake are a little bit too quick to act and are maybe a little bit obsessive over trading players. Clearlake feel that those allegations aren’t true and they would maybe like to remove Boehly from the equation entirely.

“The whole thing is extremely strange. Everything that has happened with Chelsea, from the point that Todd Boehly and Clearlake took over, is really odd.

“They have got all these players on long contracts. They keep signing players, even when it’s obvious they have too many.

“They have loaned Raheem Sterling to Arsenal and are paying him to play for one of their rivals. Then they just signed Jadon Sancho on loan and it was really hard to work out why.

“It’s like they are saying to players: ‘Just come here. There is probably a spot in the gym you can use – you’ll be alright. There is a peg you can use – you’ll be OK’ – so it is really hard to assume anyone at Chelsea knows what they are doing.”

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