Chelsea: Arsenal winning race for striker; reported £34m bid for centre-back

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Chelsea fear they are losing ground to Arsenal in the battle for £65million Alvaro Morata, according to latest reports. Indeed, according to the Mirror, the Real Madrid striker is understood to be cooling on a move to Stamford Bridge because the Blues are without Champions League football next season.

Both London clubs want to sign Morata after his goals helped Juventus win a fifth straight Italian title last season – and he also scored three for Spain at Euro 2016, but Arsene Wenger’s side are likely to win the race for his signature, as they can offer the carrot of Champions League next term.

Despite the lack of European football, Chelsea would arguably be the better move for Morata. At the Emirates he would be forced to rotate with Olivier Giroud for the sole striker role, whereas at Stamford Bridge – in Conte’s 3-5-2 system – he would play a lead role alongside one of Diego Costa or new signing Michy Batshuayi.

With his agent confirming offers on the table from the Premier League, Real have set his asking price at ­£65million and this has not deterred either London club, who are quite surprisingly prepared to break their respective record fees to sign him.

His goal statistics – 69 goals in 183 senior appearances – is hardly breath-taking, but he showed signs in France that he is ready to improve in this area. Whether he is worth the reported fee is very debatable. He hasn’t shown the ability to warrant a price-tag of £65million.

According to the Telegraph, Chelsea have formalised their interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly by making a bid worth a potential £34million. The 25-year-old emerged as Antonio Conte’s top defensive target after the Blues were given little encouragement over their prospects of landing Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus.

The Stamford Bridge outfit’s bid is structured in such a way that Napoli would receive £31.5m with a further £2.5m in bonuses. Napoli have publicly suggested they are willing to fight to keep Koulibaly and force the 25-year-old to honour his contract, but this sentiment may be little more than a negotiating tool.

Despite handing captain John Terry a new one-year contract, Conte is reportedly desperate to land a new central defender who can slot straight into his team for the start of next season. He will provide competition for the likes of Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma.

The Senegal international is seen as a specialist player and highly suitable for the system the Italian head coach is set to deploy at Stamford Bridge. Capable of playing the ball out from the back, he offers traits that are currently lacking in Chelsea’s squad.

He made 33 appearances in Serie A last term, averaging 2.5 tackles, interceptions and successful aerial duels per game. He also completed 85.9% of his total passes, having made 71.4 attempts to find a team-mate on average per appearance. Early signs suggest he would be a great signing for Chelsea.

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