Chelsea round-up: Striker set to sign; Conte signs new deal; two considered for left-back

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A hugely positive breakthrough has been made by Chelsea in the transfer market today, with announced they have agreed a fee with Real Madrid for the transfer of Alvaro Morata. The move is now subject to the 24-year-old agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, according to a statement released by club. However, he is expected to be a Chelsea player in the very near future.

Obviously, in bringing in a striker, Antonio Conte is after goals – to replace the outgoing Diego Costa – and Morata may just be the man to provide that. In La Liga last season, the 24-year-old managed 15 successful strikes in 26 appearances, 12 of these from the bench. Despite playing a bit-part role, the forward chipped in alongside the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo for Madrid, leading to interest from outside of Spain.

In other news, Conte has agreed a new contract at Chelsea which will see him earn £180,000 per week until 2019, say The Times. Conte was delighted to commit to the Blues as he told the club website of his happiness at remaining in west London, saying:

“I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Chelsea. We worked extremely hard in our first year to achieve something amazing, which I am very proud of. Now we must work even harder to stay at the top. The Chelsea fans have given me so much support since I arrived here one year ago and it is important we continue to succeed together.”

It will put an end to weeks of speculation linking Conte with a move away. That was in part fueled by frustration over transfer activity after missing out on top targets such as Romelu Lukaku and Alex Sandro, with Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko the only confirmed deals so far.

It seems that yet another deal could fall apart too as Spanish newspaper Marca believe that Manchester City have stolen a march on Chelsea and leapfrogged the Blues in the race for Real Madrid right-back Danilo. The Brazilian has reportedly agreed a deal for a move to the Citizens, having previously preferred the idea of joining Chelsea.

The claims suggest that Chelsea were too relaxed in their approach to the 26-year-old, whilst Pep Guardiola’s side had a much more convincing offer for him. That could see the club miss out on another top target in what is proving to be a disastrous transfer window to date.

That could force Conte to look elsewhere, and the Standard say that there are two candidates to fill in at left-back. They believe that Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy and Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand are both being tracked as potential additions in defence or at wing-back.

If true, Bertrand could return to Stamford Bridge after leaving in February 2015. Alternatively, Chelsea could look to 22-year-old Mendy, after rumours of a move to Manchester City seems to have disappeared in recent weeks.