Chelsea looking for new shirt sponsor as £40m-a-year Three contract expires

Chelsea are holding talks over a new sponsorship deal with a number of companies, The Telegraph report. The club's agreement with Three, the current shirt sponsor, expires at the end of this season and will not be extended.

Three pay the Blues £40m-a-year and Chelsea expect the new sponsorship agreement to be 'significantly better'. They are aiming at equalling City's £67.5m-a-year partnership with Etihad.

Three enraged a large part of the Blues fanbase last season, when they asked their logo to be removed from Chelsea's shirts after the sanctions were imposed on the club. It proved to be impossible and the Blues finished the season with the Three logo on.

The telecommunications company restored their agreement with the club after the Boehly takeover but many fans saw their action as a betrayal.

Chelsea are also looking to replace sleeve sponsor Whale Fin — the cryptocurrency firm had to terminate the deal early after running into financial problems.