Juventus striker Simone Zaza. (Photo : Getty Images)
Rumors are out that incoming Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte wants Juventus striker Simone Zaza to join him at the Stamford Bridge next season.
Caught Offside noted that the outgoing Italy national football team boss is keen on reuniting with his 24-year-old Gli Azzurri player in England this summer after the national team's Euro 2016 campaign is over.
Conte allegedly intends to make Zaza the replacement of Chelsea's flop striker, Spaniard Diego Costa, who had struggled at the Stamford Bridge for most of the current season both on and off the pitch. The report cited "serious discipline issues" as one of the reasons why the Italian manager wants him gone moving forward.
Zaza was a recent acquisition of Juve, acquired in July of last year from fellow Serie A squad Sassuolo for a transfer fee of €18 million, and despite his standing as an above average striker and scorer, the Policoro, Italy native continues to play second fiddle to Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, and Alvaro Morata in Massimiliano Allegri's pecking order up front.
The 6-foot-1 forward only played 19 of the Old Lady's 38 games in the Italian top flight this term as he scored only five times, an evident underachievement for someone of his reputation. In all competitions, he appeared for Juve 24 times this season and netted eight goals.
This said to have boosted Zaza's desire to move elsewhere for more first team playing time and Conte is prepared to give him that with Chelsea in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express reported that Conte could face a serious challenge from EPL rivals Crystal Palace FC for the services of Zaza when the summer transfer window opens.
It was said that Crystal Palace made a €26.8 million bid for Zaza during the recent winter transfer window but Juve turned it down. It is expected that the Eagles will make an improved offer this summer and Conte and the Blues must be prepared to outbid them if they really want to land the young striker.
Zaza's agent, Christian Maifredi, however asserted that his client is currently focused on the Euro 2016 competitions and is not considering yet his future in Turin.
"Simone is always working to improve, he's a young player that has plenty of room for improvement," the agent said. "It's also normal, for these reasons, that there will be transfer rumors... his head will be on the European Championships with Italy though."
