Chelsea have promised coach Antonio Conte he will be given the funds to buy four key players in the summer and have already started drawing up a list of targets, according to the London Evening Standard.
Conte will sign an extension to his contract at the end of the season and is looking to improve his squad so that Chelsea can compete in the Champions League as well as the domestic competitions next term.
Chelsea look certain to return to the Champions League as they boast a 10 point lead in the title race and are 16 points clear of Arsenal in fifth place.
Despite an impressive first season in charge, Conte claimed last week that Manchester City and Manchester United have better squads.
But Chelsea have been making room on the wage bill to make significant additions to the squad at the end of the campaign.
Oscar, Mikel John Obi and Branislav Ivanovic all left in January, while captain John Terry will not get an extension on his contract when it expires in the summer. The sale of Oscar to Shanghai SIPG and Patrick Bamford to Middlesbrough generated £70m, while the new Nike sponsorship kit deal will be worth an extra £60m-a-year when it begins in 2017-18.
Standard Sport revealed in January that strikers Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku had already been put back on Conte’s wish-list after he missed out on them during the last close season. Conte also wants at least one centre half, a full-back and a midfielder to compete for a first team spot.
There are claims in Italy that Conte could be persuaded to return to Serie A to take over Inter Milan. But the 46-year-old, who told Standard Sport earlier this month that he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge “for years”, has given another strong indication that he will still be at the club next term.
Chelsea have announced they will be playing Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in Singapore in the International Champions Cup on July 25th and July 29th respectively.
They have already arranged to meet Arsenal in Beijing on July 22 and Conte said: “I am very happy we have our pre-season tour plans for next season in place. Travelling to Singapore will give us excellent facilities to play and train, and we will face strong opposition. This is all good for my team and will help us to prepare for the next season.
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