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Antonio Conte has reportedly seen enough of Michey Batshuayi and has identified three potential January signings to replace the Belgian striker according to a report in The Telegraph.
The young striker failed to make his mark in Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Crystal Place on Saturday which left the London club trailing league leaders Manchester City by 9 points and even though Alvaro Morata has hit the ground running since joining the club in the summer, Chelsea have, so far, only hit the net 13 times.
The Italian coach will be happy that Morata looks set to return to the starting line-up for this evening’s Champions League clash with Roma but if they are to compete for any of the major trophies this season he will need to bolster his increasingly thin looking squad.
Conte is known to be an admirer of Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke. The Belgian international is currently out injured and has yet to register a goal this season but a move to Stamford Bridge could be beneficial to both parties as he will be keen to prove his goal scoring ability ahead of the World Cup and should Palace still be in danger come January he may start to consider his options so as to stay in the Premier League.
Jamie Vardy is another player on Chelsea’s radar. The England international has been linked with the Champions in the past and though he turned down a move following Leicester City’s improbable title winning season, things are looking quite different at the King Power these days. Craig Shakespeare is no longer in charge and Vardy may find that life under a new coach and manager is not to his liking. Also, at age 30, a move to Chelsea could mark his last opportunity to land a big pay day before he hangs up his boots.
As a player who only broke in to League football in 2012 it would be difficult to turn down such an opportunity and Foxes fans would hardly begrudge the striker, who delivered their first ever title, a move at this stage of his career.
Finally, Conte is believed to be interested in Red Star Belgrade’s Ghanaian striker Richmond Boakye. The 24-year-old has scored 16 times in 24 games for the Serbian side so he definitely has ability but his relative lack of experience may count against him as Chelsea look to bolster their squad and push through towards the business end of the season.
Whether or not Batshuayi deserves to keep his place in the squad beyond January is up to debate, what’s certain is that Chelsea need new recruits and the window can’t come soon enough.
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