Chelsea could start new Premier League season without a shirt sponsor AGAIN

Chelsea could be set to start the new Premier League season without a shirt sponsor for a second year in a row.

With just a week until the 2024-25 season begins, the Blues have reportedly STILL not secured a deal for a main shirt sponsor, and could play their opening matches without one.

And the most recent pictures from their new away kit launch, taken during their pre-season tour of the US, indicate they're not much closer to securing a deal.

This would be the second time in the space of a year this has happened, with the west London club beginning their 2023-24 campaign in shirts that only had club crest and manufacturer logos.

The club ended up signing a short-term deal with sponsors Infinite Athlete last year, and players could be seen donning kits throughout pre-season featuring the American tech company's logo.

However, it's unlikely the San Fransisco-based tech firm will be on the shirts of players when Chelsea take on Manchester City in their season opener at Stamford Bridge, a week on Sunday.

Premier League regulations state clubs can only have ONE shirt sponsor during the course of a season. One change is permitted for a single match day in the season, however, so clubs can promote a charity partner.

Special dispensation is also granted to clubs experiencing exceptional circumstances, such as financial difficulties, or if a sponsor fails to honour their contract.

A lack of sponsor so close to the season's opener has split fan opinion, too, with some fans taking to social media to voice their concern that the club's commercial wing seemingly cannot secure a deal lucrative enough.

Others however, claim they like the sponsor-less look, saying it harks back to a simpler era of football, when fandom and commercial interests weren't so inextricably linked.