Chelsea have been cleared to give Frank Lampard access to a £150 million transfer budget to strengthen his squad in January after their transfer ban was overturned by sport's appeal court in Switzerland.

In a landmark legal victory for the London club, the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld their case by reducing the transfer ban to one window rather than two, meaning the club has now served its punishment in full.

The panel, which had spent two weeks considering evidence from the club as well as from Fifa, has also reduced the fine by half from £460,000 to £230,000.

It is a bitter blow for the world governing body, which had been confident the punishment would stand after Chelsea were found guilty last season of breaching article 19 of its regulations on the status and transfer of players (RSTP), which concerns the protection of minors.

The appeal has split opinion among Chelsea fans, a large section of whom believe it would be better for the club to go through an entire season without any signings following the success of their young players. However, despite guiding his team into the top four of the Premier League, Lampard will now try to make additions to his squad.