Chelsea are reportedly set to splash out £240m this summer, with Antonio Conte looking to wrap up deals for four of his major transfer targets.
Having won the Premier League title last season, the Blues are expected to strengthen further as they must now cope with the Champions League being added to their fixture list.
Conte is seemingly going for quality over quantity though, as The Express report that he will look to spend £240m on Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alex Sandro, Virgil van Dijk and Romelu Lukaku.
It’s claimed that Sandro has agreed terms as Chelsea have submitted an improved bid which matches the demands of Juventus, while they’ll also make a £60m offer to Southampton in their bid to prise Van Dijk away from the Saints.
In addition, Chelsea also reportedly have a £70m offer on the table for Lukaku, although Everton are expected to demand at least £10m more, while Bakayoko is on the verge of a £35m switch from Monaco having agreed on personal terms over the weekend.
That is one serious spending spree from the champions, but it does address key areas of the squad and adds quality and depth in crucial positions as Conte also looks set to offload some players to balance the books.
The Express note that Bertrand Traore will be sold to Lyon for £16m, while Nathan Ake is set for a permanent return to Bournemouth in a deal worth £20m. In turn, it’s a clear strategy from Chelsea that they will go for established talent rather than young individuals they had hoped to bring through.
If it brings immediate and long-term success to Stamford Bridge though, few will complain about it. In turn, after a slow start to the market, it looks as though Chelsea are ready to make strong moves to build an even better squad as they were undoubtedly lacking depth and were fortunate last season that injuries didn’t derail them.