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Chelsea is once again looking at the possibility of building a new 60,000-seater ground on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Earls Court exhibition centre.

The club was in discussions about acquiring the site four years ago but talks came to nothing.

However, The Guardian claims Chelsea could quit its 105-year-old home at Stamford Bridge for the prime Earls Court site, which is just half a mile down the road, amid growing concern that the club is losing ground to rivals with bigger stadiums.

A source close to the deal told the newspaper: "The discussion is now on again. It is largely because the owners are progressing alternative uses for the site and there's lots more urgency for Chelsea to make a decision. From Chelsea's point of view, this is their last opportunity to get a new ground and stay in the same area they have been in for over a century."

The club has met the site's owner, Capital and Counties, in recent months and Chelsea and its advisers are said to be holding a series of meetings to decide whether to pursue a bid or not.

A source close to Chelsea confirmed: "There have been discussions about it and the club is clearly considering its next step.”

A new stadium would not be ready until 2015 because Earls Court is scheduled to host the 2012 Olympic volleyball competition before the exhibition centre is demolished.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said it was "very difficult for us to make the philosophical decision that we are going to move on", but conceded that the lack of capacity at Stamford Bridge left it out of pocket compared with other clubs.

"Certainly we wouldn't leave west London or thereabouts and there are very few sites available," he added. "We have to do things with our other commercial activities to make up the deficit that is created by the fact we don't have a 60,000-seat stadium. We can't say that we will never move or have a new stadium but at the moment, it's not at the front of our agenda."

Despite winning the league last season, Chelsea was only fifth in terms of average attendance in the Premier League behind Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. Stamford Bridge accommodates about 41,000 fans compared with 76,000 at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground and 60,000 at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.