Chelsea round-up: Club decide top summer target; Conte claims underdog tag; battle for Ajax defender

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The London Evening Standard claim that Chelsea have decided to prioritise a move for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku over a switch for Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata. The club are looking to add one of the prolific attackers to their squad, but are unlikely to splash out so much money as to sign two players for one position.

Antonio Conte is expected to have a huge transfer budget available to him this summer ahead of a return to the Champions League and a Premier League title defence next season, and a large chunk of that could be spent on bringing in a striker to either replace or play alongside Diego Costa.

Before that, though, the Blues have their eyes set on securing a double with victory in the FA Cup next weekend at Wembley. Surprisingly, Antonio Conte revealed that he believes that their opposition, Arsenal, go into the tie as favourites, despite finishing four places below them as he told the Independent:

“If you ask me who you think the favourites are now, I think it’s Arsenal. They only have this possibility to find a good season after a win in the FA Cup. For this reason, we must find motivation and find in ourselves the right anger. The game will be very difficult, above all for this reason… I’m talking about motivation, the right fire in our soul and our hearts. If we have this in the same proportion as Arsenal in that respect, we have the possibility to do the double and win. Otherwise we risk a lot.

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The Gunners will undoubtedly have a point to prove after missing out on a top four finish for the first time in 20 years, but Chelsea’s quality means that they will go into the game as favourites in the eyes of most bookmakers and fans given the style in which they romped to the Premier League title.

In the summer, they are also expected to spend money on defensive improvements, and Spanish newspaper Sport report that the Blues are likely to be Barcelona’s biggest competition in the chase for 20-year-old Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez, who has impressed in the Europa League this season.

The centre-back has scored six goals in 45 games this season since joining the club from Atletico Nacional for £4.25 million and could now command a much higher fee with some of Europe’s biggest clubs casting an eye over him.

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