Chelsea boss Antonio Conte plots £50m double swoop for England stars Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as he aims to bolster ‘home-grown’ quota
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ANTONIO CONTE is planning a £50million double swoop for England stars Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Chelsea boss wants to beef up the number of “home-grown” players as teams can have only 17 foreigners in their 25-man squad.
Chelsea are long-term admirers of Everton contract rebel Barkley.
The Three Lions midfielder has one year left on his deal and refuses to sign a new one.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman has told him his Goodison career is over and wants £25m for him.
Barkley, 23, is curently sidelined following surgery on a groin problem.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is in a similar situation regarding his contract.
Arsenal’s Ox, 23, has 12 months left on his deal and snubbed the Gunners’ final offer.
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Last season Chelsea filled six of their eight “homegrown” slots but Asmir Begovic, John Terry and Nathaniel Chalobah have left.
Italian gaffer Conte is desperate to bolster Chelsea as he defends the league title.
From the squad he registered in February for the second half of last season, Kurt Zouma has joined Stoke on loan, while Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic look set to leave.
Premier League rules let a team have as many Under-21 players as they like — but Chelsea’s top kids are not available.
Nathan Ake, Izzy Brown, Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are out on loan.
And England’s U20 World Cup winner Dominic Solanke joined Liverpool after letting his contract expire.
Conte also wants Juventus’ £70m-rated wing- back Alex Sandro as his marquee summer signing.
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