Chelsea are overhauling their wage structure.

The move is to offset the problems of an aging squad, which could see older players more susceptible to injury or loss of form.

The change will also allow Chelsea to function without Roman Abramovich injecting cash, but the Blues deny this is connected to the oligarch's losses in the Russian stock market.

Frank Lampard's five-year deal is understood to include successive wage increases for the first three years before taking a pay cut for the last two years of his contract, whilst negotiations with Didier Drogba, Joe Cole and John Obi Mikel, who all have 18 months left on their deals, will wait until the summer, says the Daily Mail.