Conte: It will be ‘very difficult’ to sign new players

Matt Stead

Antonio Conte admits Chelsea may not be able to sign his favoured targets before the end of the season.

Former Italy boss Conte has only been able to add two players, N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi, to his squad since taking over at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have made signing a new centre-back a priority, while Conte also wants to land another striker, although is not confident deals will be complete

“With this market, it’s very difficult to believe in something,” he said. “I have some targets.

“These targets will be very difficult to buy. But now we have a game against Burnley which is more important than the market.

“[By the end of the window] I hope to have some more players than now.”

When asked whether he would be able to meet his targets for the season without any more additions, he replied: “It’s very difficult to say.”

After chasing Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly throughout the summer, Chelsea are now considering alternative options.

Reports suggests the Blues have failed in a bid to sign AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli, while Torino’s Nikola Maksimovic has also been linked.