Wheeling and dealing! Chelsea hoping to hack £80 million off their wage bill and fund Stamford Bridge renovations as co-owner Todd Boehly closes in on $500 million of investment from US

Chelsea are reportedly looking to cut their wage bill by around £80million ($100m) to fund renovations to Stamford Bridge.

WHAT HAPPENED? According to theFinancial Times, the Blues have also forged a partnership with US alternative asset management firm Ares Management which will inject around £404m ($500m) into the club. Since Todd Boehly took over Chelsea they have spent almost £1 billion on player transfers with the wage bill also increasing steadily with new signings.

Hence there will be concerted efforts to cut down on the wage bill, which is currently at least £150m, by either selling or loaning out players in the upcoming transfer window.

«I think what we are trying to do is reduce the salary and essentially the opex [operating expenses] of the business by over $100m (£80.6m) per year,» said Clearlake's co-founder Jose Feliciano at the IPEM private equity conference in Paris.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The club's owners are seeking funds for the costly renovations of Stamford Bridge and their continued desire to acquire stakes in additional clubs has forced them to adopt this approach.

An insider with knowledge of Ares' investment characterized it as a 'preferred equity deal' with former Chelsea director Mike Forde is believed to have played a significant role in facilitating this investment.

«We have bought an asset that is very coveted by many other potential buyers,» he added.

Stamford Bridge's capacity of around 40,000 fans is far fewer than Arsenal (60,700), Tottenham (62,850), Man United (74,000), Liverpool (61,370) and Man City (53,400). The board is mulling over the decision of whether to redevelop the current infrastructure or set up a completely new stadium at Earl's Court. It is believed that part of the funding will