Conte to rival Guardiola with £250m spree

Chelsea manager targets four high-profile recruits Pedro suffers multiple fractures in clash of heads

Antonio Conte is targeting four more signings as Chelsea prepare to back their manager with a budget which could top £250million.

Conte is to rival Manchester City in the summer spending stakes as he moves to strengthen the Premier League champions with Alex Sandro, Antonio Candreva, Fernando Llorente and Virgil van Dijk.

Sandro, the Juventus left-back, is high on Conte’s list of targets and though negotiations have proved difficult, Chelsea are optimistic about a £60 million deal for the Brazilian.

Chelsea are also stepping up their interest in Candreva, the Inter Milan winger, while Swansea’s Llorente is seen as a realistic option for Conte’s depleted attack.

Van Dijk, the Southampton defender, is understood to not be a top priority at this stage but Chelsea are continuing to monitor the situation and could make a bid before the transfer window closes.

The Dutch centre-half has been left out of Southampton’s 25-man squad for a training camp in France this week and made it clear he wants to leave St Mary’s.

Chelsea have already forked out £130 million on four players, including record signing Alvaro Morata, and assured Conte they would back him with substantial funds when he signed a new two-year contract.

Manchester City are the biggest spenders by some distance this summer, paying an estimated £230 million as Pep Guardiola revamps his squad at the Etihad.

Conte insisted last week, during the pre-season tour of Asia, that Chelsea urgently needed more players. The Italian will intensify his attempts to bring in fresh faces this month.

His squad has been depleted by the departures of former captain John Terry, Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Chalobah, while last season’s leading scorer, Diego Costa, and midfielder Nemanja Matic are expected to be sold. Kurt Zouma, the French centre-back, has also been sent out on loan to Stoke City.

After winning the league by seven points, Chelsea are desperate to avoid a repeat of two years ago when they endured a miserable title defence, eventually finishing 10th. Jose Mourinho, the manager, was sacked in December 2015 after nine defeats from 16 league games.

Cesar Azpilicueta, the defender, said: “After being champions three years ago, we had a terrible season