Chelsea might be able to sign a new striker as Mario Mandzukic becomes the 3rd or even 4th option for last season’s Serie A champions. Juventus have signed Higuain who has already scored his first winning goal of the season; they have Dybala who is in incredible form and they also have Zaza who is young and earns half of what Mandzukic is making. A move in Italy is out of the question for the 30-year-old who despite being pushed aside by Juventus, is still one of the best strikers in Serie A. Conte might finally get to take advantage of his connections with the club from Turin. According to Metro, Chelsea will have to pay around £25million for Mandzukic who might be willing to leave after just one year. He did it already as he was with Atletico for only 12 months.
Seeing Chelsea make a bid for the Croatian international is not a farfetched scenario given their pursuit for Lukaku. It seems that Conte wants to have a back-up just in case he needs to recreate the formation which got him the win against Watford. It is very likely to see the Blues play two strikers up front when they need to come back from conceding goals.
Mandzukic has proven quite the partner for Dybala last season which is exactly what Conte expects from the collaboration between Batshuayi and the Croatian striker. Despite all of his positive characteristics, he is a bit expensive to be brought in as a substitute. On the other hand strong competition for Costa and Batshuayi means progress. It also means extra motivation which, for strikers, means more goals. Chelsea desperately needed that last season when the options were not delivering as expected. If Juventus drops the price to £15million, Conte should go for it. Having a numerous lot which also has quality is very likely the key to bringing the title to Stamford Bridge.