Chelsea will be allowed to sign Antonio Candreva as Inter Milan identify alternative

KEY POINTS

Candreva made 38 appearances in the Serie A for Inter Milan last season.
The 30-year-old was deployed in right midfield and the right wing positions.

Chelsea have been handed a fresh boost in their pursuit of Antonio Candreva with Inter Milan ready to let him leave if they can sign Lazio's Keita Balde Diao, whom they have identified as the ideal candidate to replace the Italian midfielder.

Antonio Conte is desperate to further bolster his squad despite making four signings – Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata –this summer and is now focused on strengthening in the wing-back areas of his team.

Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso are currently the manager's first choice at right and left wing-back respectively and the Italian coach is keen to bring in two more players to increase squad depth owing to their return to the Champions League this season.

Candreva, who can play all across the midfield, has been identified as the manager's preferred choice to challenge Moses for a starting role at right-wing back and Juventus' Alex Sandro is a target for the left-wing back role.

According to the Mirror, Inter have softened their stance after initially turning down overtures from the Blues for the Italy international. They have now identified Balde Diao as an ideal replacement and are willing to sanction the move for the £23m ($30.4m) rated midfielder if they can beat Juventus to the Lazio winger's signing.

A separate report claims that another reason for the Serie A club's change of heart is that they are now not concerned about losing Ivan Perisic, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United. Inter manager Luciano Spelletti is said to be open to the idea of Candreva leaving but is averse to allowing the Croatian to leave the club this summer.

Conte has not put all his eggs in one basket and has identified Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a potential alternative if they fail to bring Candreva to Stamford Bridge this summer. The Gunners midfielder, who is in the final year of his contract, has played in the wing-back role for his current employers since the latter stages of last season.