Antonio Conte has heaped praise on Tottenham striker Harry Kane and says if he was to go out and buy another striker, the England man would be his preferred choice.
The Chelsea boss recently splashed out a club-record £58 million to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, with Diego Costa well aware that he does not have a future at Stamford Bridge.
But Conte, who signed a new and improved contract with Chelsea, has stated his admiration for Kane, who he believes is worth "at least £100 million" in the current market, with transfer fees soaring to new heights completely this summer.
As quoted byThe Guardian at a press conference in Singapore, Conte said:
"Tottenham is a really good squad if they are able to keep all the players.
"For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world. If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane. He is a complete striker.
"He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he's strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left. He's a complete player. He's one of the top strikers in the world. If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100m. At least. For me, if I see this price for a striker I know for sure he's a big striker."
Having come into his own at Spurs, Kane has a sensational return of 79 goals in the past three Premier League campaigns, where he has finished as the top scorer in each.
Image: PA
There is, of course, next to no chance of Kane leaving White Hart Lane this summer, and Spurs chief Daniel Levy is renowned for being a stern negotiator, but Conte certainly speaks glowingly of the 23-year old.
Moreover, the Italian also revealed that he was keen on signing Kane's former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker.
But Chelsea decided against paying Tottenham's demands, and the Sheffield United youth product headed to Manchester City in a £45 million move.
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"We tried to buy Walker," he added.
"Honestly, I think now every single player is
expensive. For you to even enquire about one player, he is expensive. You go to
buy a right-back, a left-back or a central defender and he is expensive. It is
very difficult in the transfer market for the teams that need to improve their
squads."
Chelsea take on Inter Milan in their final pre-season in the Far East on Saturday, before they lock horns with Arsenal for the second time in a matter of weeks when the league winners and FA Cup winners contest the Community Shield at Wembley.
Topics: Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Antonio Conte, Harry Kane