Chelsea's sporting director Frank Arnesen to leave after five years at Stamford Bridge

Arnesen will step down when his contract expires at the end of this season after spending five years at Chelsea, where he has overseen the club's youth development and other areas, announcing that he wants to "seek a new challenge".

The Dane, who joined Chelsea in 2005 after previously working at Tottenham, said: "It has been a privilege and an honour for me to work for such a big club with so many great people.

"After six wonderful years I have decided to seek a new challenge when my contract expires at the end of this season."

Arnesen continued on chelseafc.com: "It has been a tremendous journey and I would like to thank everyone at Chelsea, especially Roman [Abramovich], for giving me the incredible opportunity to help build on the club's academy and youth system along with our greatly talented academy and scouting staff.