Chelsea are reportedly ready to “battle” Inter Milan for Lazio and Italy winger Antonio Candreva.

According to Darren Lewis in the Mirror, Chelsea are “rivalling” Inter for the consistent Candreva—currently playing with Italy at Euro 2016 under incoming Blues manager Antonio Conte—but his arrival at Stamford Bridge would not “threaten” current star midfielder Willian.

The 29-year-old has netted at least 10 goals in each of his last three Serie A seasons and would be a very useful addition given he can play a variety of positions down the right flank—including at wing-back—and also on the left or in the centre, per WhoScored.com.

Candreva‘s familiarity with Conte‘s methods would also make him an excellent signing as he could fit straight in to what will likely be a much-changed system at Stamford Bridge under the Italian.

However, he may be eager to stay on at Lazio next season, especially if Marcelo Bielsa is appointed as their new manager, per football writer Ed Malyon:

Inter are also seemingly ahead of Chelsea in the process of pursuing Candreva, with Siavoush Fallahi providing details of their initial offer and Lazio‘s demands:

Conte unquestionably needs to make changes over the summer as he looks to return Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table.

For quality and familiarity reasons Candreva would be a fine signing for the Blues, but the odds look stacked against them currently given the other clubs interested.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are also reportedly set for a contest as they pursue the signing of Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.

According to Gazzetta Dello Sport (via Uche Amako in the Express), Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has rejected a £19.2 million offer from the Blues for the Senegal international and, though Manchester United are willing to eclipse Chelsea with a £20.7 million offer, the Serie A club value him at £30.8 million. 

The west London outfit may be loath to go as high as £30 million in order to sign the 25-year-old Koulibaly, but they desperately need reinforcements at centre-back with John Terry past his prime and Gary Cahill worryingly inconsistent.

Well regarded for his hard tackling and ability to play the ball out from deep, Koulibaly could likely settle well in the Premier League and could potentially form an excellent long-term centre-back partnership with 21-year-old Kurt Zouma.

But seemingly Chelsea will have to up their bid significantly if they are to have any chance of persuading Napoli to sell. 

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