Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has sensationally claimed that the striker he really wanted to sign this summer was Tottenham forward Harry Kane, not Alvaro Morata.
The Premier League champions were searching for a new striker for much of the summer after Conte told Diego Coste he no longer featured in his first-team plans.
First the club targeted Romelu Lukaku, but were gazumped by Manchester United, forcing them to open negotiations with Real Madrid for Morata, who joined in a deal worth £70 million.
Conte was never thought to be particularly enthused by the prospect of signing Lukaku, and it seems there was a player he would rather have been signed ahead of Morata too.
‘Tottenham is a really good squad if they are able to keep all the players,’ said Conte, who is currently in Singapore for Chelsea’s pre-season tour.
‘For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world.
‘If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane. He is a complete striker.
‘He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he’s strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left.
‘He’s a complete player. He’s one of the top strikers in the world. If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100m.
‘At least. For me, if I see this price for a striker I know for sure he’s a big striker.’
Kane claimed his second successive Golden Boot last season, despite missing several months through injury, as he netted 29 goals in just 30 appearances.
By contrast, Morata netted just 15 goals in La Liga last season, though was restricted to just 14 starts as he played second fiddle to Karim Benzema and the rest if Real’s ‘BBC’ attack.
MORE : Four moments from Alvaro Morata’s 27-minute cameo to get Chelsea fans hyped
Share this with