Chelsea have endured a frustrating transfer window thus far and the biggest blow to Antonio Conte’s side came last week, with Manchester United winning the race to land Romelu Lukaku from Everton- leaving the Blues empty-handed in their quest to sign a striker.

Conte’s only major addition so far this summer is the capture of German defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma, bolstering his defensive line, but the priority in the coming weeks is improve the options available in midfield and attack- especially as Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa are expected to leave.

Chelsea’s prime-target all summer in their quest to sign a new midfield partner for N’Golo Kante has been Monaco ace Tiemoue Bakayoko but securing a deal for the Frenchman hasn’t been easy, with the Ligue 1 champions playing hardball and concerns being raised about an injury Bakayoko previously had.

However, reports indicate those issues have been resolved and Bakayoko is poised to arrive in West London imminently- and his brother has handed fans a huge boost by suggesting the midfielder has snubbed interest from Manchester United.

Following United’s capture of Lukaku, speculation rose suggesting Jose Mourinho’s side would go head-to-head in the market with the Premier League champions once again as they looked at signing Bakayoko- but a post on snapchat suggested a deal to Chelsea is set to go ahead.

French outlet RMC Sport have claimed a £40m deal has been agreed to bring Bakayoko to Stamford Bridge and the midfielder could join his squad for the pre-season tour in China, where the Blues travel to next week ahead of a clash with Arsenal in Beijing.

The 22-year-old’s arrival will take Chelsea’s summer spending to just under £75m, with Rudiger captured at the weekend for a fee of around £34m, but the Blues aren’t done there as they will turn their attention towards signing a top-class striker to replace Diego Costa.

Costa has been informed he’s surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and has been heavily linked with a return to Atletico Madrid, despite the fact he wouldn’t be able to feature for Diego Simeone’s side until 2018 due to a transfer ban.

That ban doesn’t block deals from being secured this summer though and Chelsea are expecting to land around £30m from the sale of the Spanish striker, helping them to balance their books and fund a move for a forward of their own.