Chelsea to bolster coaching staff

Chelsea have confirmed they are looking to bolster Avram Grant's backroom staff and could bring in a foreign coach.

Reports suggest Ajax's Henk Ten Cate will be taken on to assist Grant and assistant Steve Clarke, as Grant does not have a Uefa Pro coaching licence.

A club statement said: "One of the scenarios Avram is considering is a team containing a British assistant in Steve and a foreign assistant."

Ajax refused to comment to the BBC on stories linking Ten Cate with the role.

But the Dutchman's appointment would appear to fit with Chelsea's plan to adopt a three-pronged approach to coaching at the club.

"This is a system the first team are already familiar with," the statement continued.

Ten Cate, who has a reputation for producing attacking football and being a hard task-master on the training ground, was formerly number two at Barcelona and helped the Catalan giants to Champions League glory in 2006.

In his first season as Ajax manager, the club missed out on the Dutch title on goal difference, though he has won a Dutch Cup and two Dutch Super Cups in his time at the Amsterdam Arena.

It is reported that he has been recommended to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich by sporting director Frank Arnesen.

Source: BBC Sport