New Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte. (Photo : Getty Images)
New Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is rumored to soon to be approaching an £80 million double swoop of Leicester City's N'Golo Kanté and Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly as he remarked that he is "confident" to secure the signings of both players during his press unveiling on Thursday.
Caught Offside indicated that the 46-year-old former Italy national team manager, who led Gli Azzurri to a quarterfinal finish in the recently concluded Euro 2016, is "confident of securing the signings of" Kanté and Koulibaly as he intends to "step up activity in the transfer market" while the team prepares their pre-season calendar.
The Blues said to have already agreed to a £30 million transfer fee with the reigning English Premier League champions for their prized midfielder and the move is underway with Kanté enthusiastic on playing for the Italian mentor next season.
Leicester allegedly tried to persuade Kanté to stay at the King Power Stadium with a £100,000 weekly wage offer, but the 25-year-old Frenchman still decided to move on and play for Chelsea, according to The Sun.
Kanté had been a key part of head coach Claudio Ranieri's midfield during their title-run last term especially on the defensive end. The Paris native had appeared in 37 domestic games and had scored once.
Meanwhile, Conte has turned his attention from Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci to Napoli's Koulibaly as his search for a new defender is still ongoing.
Partenopei is rumored to be asking a massive £50 million fee for the giant French-born Senegalese center back, which is the same amount as Fernando Torres' signing from Liverpool in 2011, a British record at that time.
Chelsea is set to face competition from Everton for Koulibaly, but like Kanté, Conte is said to be the first choice mentor of the 6-foot-5 defender.
The report also noted that Stamford Bridge fans are rumored to be growing impatient for new signings this summer as only one has been pulled off by the Blues thus far, which is the £33 million acquisition of Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi from Ligue 1 squad Olympique de Marseille earlier this month.
Batshuayi signed a five-year contract with the Pensioners and is said to be keen on playing with Conte and midfielder Oscar in West London.
