Having played his entire career in Italy, Antonio Conte knew what he was in for when he gave forward Simone Zaza his big break with the Italian national team in 2014.
According to the Express, Conte wants to sign the Juventus striker to Chelsea when he takes over the club at the end of Euro 2016. Zaza scored five goals in 19 appearances for the Serie A giants this past season en route to yet another title in Italy’s top league.
Zaza could serve as a replacement for disgruntled striker Diego Costa, who struggled for a large portion of the season and had serious discipline issues.
Despite making a €18 million transfer move this past summer, Zaza was well behind the likes of Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic on the depth chart for the majority of the season and was pursued by Crystal Palace during the January transfer window.
Zaza has been capped nine times for Italy under Antonio Conte and scored his first international goal in a win over Norway during the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
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