Antonio Conte laments 'crazy' transfer window but suggests Chelsea big-money revamp will continue

Antonio Conte has conceded Chelsea will need to break the bank to keep bolstering the squad in the current "crazy" transfer window after highlighting the big fees paid by Manchester United and Arsenal in the signings of Romelu Lukaku and Alexandre Lacazette.

The Italian manager has already made a number of additions to his ranks ahead of a new demanding season which will see the Blues returning to the Champions League.

Former Manchester City star Willy Caballero has arrived to Stamford Bridge as a free-agent while the Blues have also signed Antonio Rudiger from Roman and Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco after paying respectively around £29m and £40m for their services.

Alvaro Morata is expected to follow them in the coming hours after earlier on Wednesday (19 July) Chelsea announced an agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of the Spanish international striker.

Reports in Spain suggest that Chelsea have agreed to pay Real Madrid £72m for the Spaniard, but BBC understands that the agreement is worth around £60m.

One way or another it has been said that the Blues only turned their attention to Morata after Manchester United beat them for the signing of Romelu Lukaku in a more expensive deal worth in excess of £75m.

Chelsea are still expected to sign a back-up for Morata and at least one full-back before the end of the transfer window but Conte concedes that it won't be easy due to the inflation of the market.

"For sure this transfer market is crazy. Not only for this season, but now if you want to buy a simple player - a normal player - you have to start to think about spending ‎€40m to ‎€50m. It's incredible this situation but there is this situation and we must live with it," Conte said in a press conference from China ahead of a friendly game against Arsenal.

"Lukaku cost a lot of money but the same with [Alex] Lacazette and Arsenal who spent ‎€65m. For a right-back you spend ‎€60-70m. This is the situation now. We must be very good and not make a mistake when we buy a player. You have to spend a lot and it is very important to make the right choice."