Reports: Chelsea to continue their spending spree as Antonio Conte identifies two targets

What's the story?

According to Standard Sport, Chelsea will continue their summer spending spree, with manager Antonio Conte targeting Fernando Llorente and Benjamin Mendy.

In case you didn't know...

Mendy has been a target for Manchester City this summer and just yesterday Monaco rejected their £44m bid as they believe he is worth more than Kyle Walker, who City bought for £50m.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are in the search for a wing back this summer and had identified Alex Sandro as an option, but with Bonucci moving to AC Milan, it looks highly doubtful that Juventus would be willing to sell him.

The Blues then turned to Real Madrid's Danilo, but Manchester City hijacked that deal. Now, it looks like the Stamford Bridge outfit are threatening to do the same to Guardiola's side with respect to the Mendy deal.

The heart of the matter

With Morata having passed his medical just recently, the Blues would have spent a whopping £132m so far. Conte is looking to strengthen his squad with Champions League football returning to Stamford Bridge after a one-year hiatus.

Standard Sport believes that Chelsea are looking to strengthen three main positions - Wing back, central midfield and the attack.

Llorente has been identified as a backup to Morata. However, the Italian boss will find it difficult to convince Swansea to sell. The Blues tried to sign him back in January this year, but Swansea refused to negotiate.

Llorente seems to be open to a move to Chelsea but it remains to be seen whether Swansea would allow one of their star players to leave. Llorente played a crucial role in helping Swansea escape relegation last season.

What's next?

Chelsea still have loads of money to spend. They got £150.8m in television prize money from winning the league last season, not to forget the £60m Nike deal they just signed up for. The Blues have also received more than £130m from player sales so far.

Chelsea were ready to pay £60m for Sandro, so the price tag for Mendy should not put off the Blues. It's just a matter of time before Chelsea make a move for the promising youngster.

Author's take

If Mendy and Llorente were to be signed by Chelsea, it would be a masterstroke by Conte. They would be good additions in terms of squad depth as the Blues have plenty of games to play next season. Also, with Costa almost certain to leave, Llorente could provide decent back-up to the likes of Morata and Batshuayi.