Chelsea held talks with a Chinese company last week about a lucrative commercial partnership.

There has been talk that the investors were negotiating over a potential £500m deal that will help provide funds for the rebuild of Stamford Bridge. While Standard Sport has been assured that such a sum was not discussed, it is another indication of new commercial director Chris Townsend’s intent to increase the club’s portfolio of business partners.

Townsend has said he is looking to double Chelsea’s revenue to around £650m in the next few years to compete with Europe’s biggest clubs.

He said: “Over the next seven to 10 years [we want Chelsea] to be a top four or five club in Europe [by revenue], rather than ranked eighth.

“Manchester United, Manchester City and others have between 50 and 70 [sponsors]. We plan to focus on more premium brands in a far more limited range of categories.”

The talks with a Chinese company also suggests that Chelsea have not been adversely affected by the controversy surrounding Kenedy in the summer. The Brazilian posted some offensive posts on social media about China while the club were on a pre-season tour there in July.

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He was sent home by Chelsea, who were subject of an angry editorial in Chinese newspaper the People’s Daily.