Former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola has urged Antonio Conte to sign Torino striker Andrea Belotti this summer.
The Premier League champions are in the market to replace Diego Costa but missed out on a deal to sign Romelu Lukaku, who officially completed his move to Manchester United on Monday.
Chelsea are reportedly preparing a £70m offer for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
Belotti, meanwhile, would also command a high asking price as Torino are refusing to sell for anything less than the Italian’s €100m (£87.6m) release clause.
But Zola believes Belotti possesses similar qualities to Costa and would therefore be a better fit for Antonio Conte’s side than the Spain international.
‘To be honest, I was thinking Chelsea should go for Andrea Belotti in Italy,’ Zola told talkSPORT.
‘I thought that considering the type of qualities Costa has, that Belotti was the perfect fit.
‘Morata is a little bit different, he’s more of a finesse player. He hasn’t got the presence of a player like Costa in the box. He’s a different player, he brings other qualities.
‘Costa was very influential last season, he’s a type of player who fits with the style of football at Chelsea, and that [finding a like-for-like replacement] will be the key for Chelsea.’
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