One of Chelsea's top scouts is leaving for rivals Fulham because he claims youngsters do not get a chance at Stamford Bridge.

Bernie Dixson, Chelsea's "head of recruitment", claimed manager Claudio Ranieri's policy of buying established older stars is stifling opportunities for home-grown youngsters.

Dixson has been at Chelsea since 1994 and said there has been a marked downturn in the opportunities for youngsters since coaches Graham Rix and Ray Wilkins followed manager Gianluca Vialli out of the club last autumn.

Dixson, 53, was responsible for taking England Under-21 captain John Terry to Chelsea and has seen John Harley and Jody Morris break into the first team in recent years.

But defender Terry now fears he will be replaced next season by William Gallas - a £6.2 million buy from Marseille - and Harley has already fallen out of favour with the manager.

Dixson said: "At Chelsea there is an excellent bunch of young players just waiting to burst through but whether they will get a chance in the first-team is another matter. "They would go and buy someone at the top end of the market instead of giving youngsters a go. "The kids will then think they have to look elsewhere if they do not get a game. Players such as Leon Knight, 18, and Sam Parkin, 20, at Chelsea have been left out and would have benefited from substitute appearances. "I know they were chasing a Champions League place but there were games at home when they could have played a part. "The way forward is the way things have been done by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and David O'Leary at Leeds. They put the youngsters in the first-team."

Dixson said the policy at Stamford Bridge has gradually deteriorated since Hoddle left five years ago. Chelsea were the first Premiership club to field 11 non-English players in a match.

That gained them a reputation for blocking the progress of home-grown talent and they will not want to further damage their name by becoming known for not giving young players of any nationality a chance, particularly with Dixson leaving.

He said: "Manager Jean Tigana told me he wants to establish Fulham in the Premiership with a squad of young players. I could not wait to get on board."