Antonio Conte is being seen as the great Messiah who can change the fortunes of Chelsea next season. The Blues had a horrid campaign last time around and even had to sack Jose Mourinho midway through the season.
Conte would be taking over from interim manager Guus Hiddink, who is expected to have some sort of role in the board for Chelsea. The Italian manager will leave the national team after the end of the Euros and it is expected that he will bring many players from Serie A or at least try to sign a lot of quality from a league he knows well.
However, he shouldn’t just look at that league and maybe concentrate on some other players close by. Here are three players that Conte should sign who don’t play in Serie A.
N’Golo Kante
The 25-year-old French midfielder was one of the stars for Leicester this season and his tenacity and tackling ability were second to none. The star was so incredible that he was included in France’s Euro 2016 squad and he is expected to do extremely well in this competition as well.
Kante would provide Chelsea with a lot of steel and bite in their midfield. Even though the London club have the likes of John Obi Mikel and Nemanja Matic, the duo weren’t up to their great standards last season and Kante could well be the answer to Conte’s midfield destroyer issue.
Alexandre Lacazette
The Lyon hitman had another decent season for the Ligue 1 club but truth be told, he will probably never win much at the club and the only other hope for him is to move to PSG. However, Antonio Conte could sign up the French striker and give Chelsea a lot more bite in the attack.
The 25-year-old Lyon star is one of the best in the business and even though he had a slow start to the season, he did manage to bag 21 goals in the league, not a bad return considering he went a long spell at the start of the season without a goal.
Chelsea needs someone who is going to get the goals, no matter what and Lacazette is one of the best finishers in world football today. Coupled with his incredible movement and running, he could form a lethal strike force with Eden Hazard and Willian next season.
Steven N’Zonzi
A surprise player being linked with a move to the Blues, N’Zonzi could be a smart buy from Conte considering the fact the midfielder would not be as highly priced as the other players and the fact that N’Zonzi has prior experience in English football.
Currently playing in Spain with Europa League winners Sevilla, N’Zonzi would be an ideal player if the Blues cannot get Kante or Nainggolan. The 27-year-old could be the bargain of the season if Conte does sign him and it certainly would show that the Blues are willing to sign players who don’t have the big price tags but can get the job done.