According to The Guardian, a FIFA investigation has pinpointed 25 cases into the club's recruitment of players aged under 18.

The newspaper said FIFA's transfer matching system (TMS) examined incoming deals involving the Premier League club and forwarded its findings to the organisation's disciplinary committee.

A club spokesman said: "Chelsea FC complies with all FIFA statutes and regulations when recruiting players."

If proven, the claims would subject Chelsea to the same transfer bans that FIFA has placed on Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid for the same violation in recent years. All were given two-window bans, though Real successfully appealed their penalty down to one.

International transfers are only permitted for players over the age of 18 -- unless the player in question meets one of three qualifying criteria.

Under-18s can move to a club in a different country if their parents move there for non-footballing reasons, if they are from another nation within the European Union or European Economic Area and aged between 16 and 18, or if they live within 100 kilometres of the club.

Chelsea faced scrutiny in January 2016 after it emerged Burkina Faso international Bertrand Traore played for their under-18s side against Arsenal in 2011 when aged 16, in an apparent breach of FIFA regulations.

The London club at the time considered Traore to be the subject of an option agreement which allowed him to play in friendly games. He formally signed for the Blues in January 2014, and after loan spells with Vitesse and Ajax he joined Lyon last summer on a permanent deal.