Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will turn his attentions to Liverpool striker Christian Benteke if the Blues fail in their attempts to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton, a report from The Times claims.
Conte is keen to bolster his attacking options this summer and has placed Lukaku at the top of his wish-list, but the Italian manager is aware that he faces stiff competition for the Belgian international.
Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are on the long list of potential suitors looking to prize Lukaku away from Goodison Park this summer, though Everton’s £65million asking price may deter some bidders from following up their initial interest.
In contrast, Romelu’s fellow countryman,Benteke could be available for as little as £20million this summer after being made available for transfer by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
The 25-year-old struggled in his debut season on Merseyside, scoring just nine times in 29 Premier League appearances – a record that is put to shame by Romelu’s 25 goals in 46 appearances.
Klopp will look to recoup as much of the £32million invested in Benteke as possible, before reinvesting the cash on other attacking options this summer. Mario Gotze and Sadio Mane are just two of the long list of names touted as potential Reds targets already this summer, though, as it stands, nothing is close to completion.
