Chelsea are joining the battle for Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi.

The Daily Star says new Blues boss Antonio Conte is a big fan of the £50m-rated Argentine hitman and Inter captain who has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham and Serie A side Napoli.

The 23-year-old scored 16 goals in 34 appearances last season for the Italian side, who yesterday sacked Roberto Mancini and will replace the former Manchester City boss with Frank De Boer.

Chelsea had been angling to get Romelu Lukaku back in their ranks two years after Everton paid a club record £28m for the Belgium star and were ready to go to £65m.

But majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has priced Lukaku out of the market by demading £10 more than Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was prepared to pay.