Conte identifies Italy frontman as Costa replacement for Chelsea

Antonio Conte has lined up Ciro Immobile as a replacement for Diego Costa at Chelsea, with the Spaniard sealing a return to Atletico Madrid in January and the Blues boss keen to reinforce his frontline, according to The Mirror.

The former Juventus boss worked with the Lazio striker during his time as Italy head coach and has been understandably impressed by his progress since a return to Serie A.

The 27-year-old endured a difficult season in Borussia Dortmund having ended the campaign previous at Torino as the top scorer in Italy's top-flight and since moving to Rome he is gunning for the Capacannoniere once more.

Conte identifies Italy frontman as Costa replacement for Chelsea

 

Immobile has begun the current campaign in flying form, scoring 13 goals in ten league matches, leading the way in the Italian scoring charts once more.

That sort of strike rate would be a welcome addition at the Bridge, where the pressure is on Alvaro Morata to fire Chelsea to an increasingly unlikely title defence. Michy Batshuayi has seemingly failed to fully earn his manager's trust, with links to a move in excess of £50m for Immobile only strengthening that assumption.