Chelsea close to signing Alonso

Antonio Conte has made no secret of his desire to sign defenders and it now seems that Marcos Alonso is his latest target.

The Italian is allegedly prepared to pay £25m for the defender, who has previous experience in the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.

It is thought that a move for the 25-year-old could see Alonso slot in at left-back with Cesar Azpilicueta taking up a more central role in the Chelsea side, lining up alongside John Terry or Gary Cahill.

The Blues have already missed out on defensive targets Kalidou Koulibaly and Alessio Romagnoli and Conte will be hoping that he can finally add a defender to his squad in Marcos Alonso.