The United Synagogue could be about to benefit from a massive cash injection, courtesy of an unexpected benefactor: billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

According to sources close to the Russian oligarch, whose fortune is thought to be in excess of £8 billion, he has fallen out of love with football and is said to be seriously considering funding Britain’s biggest Jewish religious organisation.
Abramovich’s possible change of direction may explain why big-money signings at Chelsea have been thin on the ground in recent months.