Chelsea youngsters to get their chance as Abramovich curbs big-spending

Roman Abramovich has declared the end of Chelsea’s ‘spend, spend, spend’ era.

The Blues owner has invested a staggering £760million of his own money since buying the club from Ken Bates in 2003.

But he will not bankroll any more of the record-breaking summer outlays that have marked his ­Stamford Bridge reign.

While Carlo Ancelotti will not be denied access to transfer funds, there will be only a handful of fresh faces, with five members of the academy promoted into the first team squad.

And with only the ­occasional “exceptional” transfer fee coming from Abramovich’s personal funds, it means Ancelotti will be expected to fund summer dealings from player sales.

The new blueprint is the logical extension of a policy of self-sufficiency which has long appeared wishful thinking. But it comes with all plans for this summer on hold to the end of the season after Abramovich decided he would no longer splash the cash with abandon.

And Ancelotti, who last night told his players they remain masters of their own title destiny with three matches to go, signaled his happiness with the policy.

He said: “The only sure thing will be that, next season, there will be five players from the academy in the squad. That’s sure.

“Some players will maybe move on. Some we will move. It’s not because we don’t have the money. We have very good young players and this is the time to put them in the squad for next year.”

Ancelotti named the five as French winger Gael Kakuta, Dutch defenders Jeffrey Bruma and Patrick Van Aanholt, Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic and Italian striker Fabio Borini, who have all made fleeting appearances this term.

With the ­expectation of three or four arrivals, ­Ancelotti hinted that Chelsea may not be involved in the sort of auctions that saw them pay huge fees for the likes of Michael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Andriy Shevchenko.

With Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini raising the prospect of bidding for Fernando Torres, Ancelotti said: “I don’t know if the fans would rather see Torres than Kakuta.

“I’ve seen Kakuta in the Champions League and the fans were very happy then.

“Kakuta is a new player. They will see new players.

“They’ll be happy if Chelsea win the title and the FA Cup. They will see some new players in the future.

“If Mancini wants Torres, he’s a good choice.

“Every team has to take the players they need.

“We have Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, and that’s enough for us.

“The decisions I take on who stays and who goes does not depend on winning the league. We will take ­decisions at the end of the season.

“We will have two months to make a decision on contracts.”

Ancelotti will likely to be in the market for a back-up keeper, right-back and midfielder, as well as an extra front-man, but the restrictions will keep his outlay well south of the £50m mark.