Photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

Chelsea were linked with names such as Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the striking department, before the club eventually settled for the 24-year-old Spaniard in a deal valued to be around £60 million.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has admitted that if he was to sign a striker, he’d go for Spurs Harry Kane, but the value of the Premier League’s top scorer last season will be too high.

“Tottenham is a really good squad if they are able to keep all the players,” said Conte. “For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world. If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane. He is a complete striker.

“He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he’s strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left. He’s a complete player. He’s one of the top strikers in the world. If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100m. At least. For me, if I see this price for a striker I know for sure he’s a big striker.”

Kane has scored 93 goals over the last three seasons with 29 in the Premier League last season as Tottenham finished second behind Chelsea.

The 23-year-old only signed a new contract last December, and it runs for five more years, meaning signing Kane from Tottenham will be mission impossible.