Antonio Conte is demanding Chelsea go on a summer spending spree after claiming they could win the Double despite being in a period of “transition.”
Conte is on course to emulate Carlo Ancelotti by winning the title and FA Cup in his first season but the Chelsea boss made it clear the squad needs major reinforcements this summer.
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku and Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk top their summer wish list and would cost in excess of £120million but Conte says they must go for it to build long-term success.
He said: “We are in a period of transition. In this season, we have lost Ivanovic, Mikel and next season we lose John Terry.
“We are talking about players who wrote the history of this club. They won a lot. Now we have to find the right substitutes for these players and then work to put these players at the same level.
“I think that in the period with Carlo Ancelotti - and Carlo is the best Italian coach, I have great respect for him - he arrived at Chelsea when they had a really strong squad.
“Now we are building. We are building something important. We need time. It’s not easy when you lose these type of players but we need to show patience to build the foundations and then improve every season.
“I repeat, if you ask me last season, after our 10th place, and this season you stay on top of the table and you reach the FA Cup final, but you didn’t change a lot, I think it’s great. But we must continue to work and improve.”
Conte admits even he has been surprised by Chelsea’s results this season and says Mauricio Pochettino has had longer to build his squad.
But ex-Juventus boss Conte says Chelsea are now determined to secure a remarkable Double by not letting the title slip.
Conte added: “It is very important to develop our football. If you compare our team with Tottenham’s, Pochettino has worked for three years. I started to work only seven or eight months ago.
“If we are able to take the right player to improve this squad and to continue to work with these players, we can improve for sure.
“I think it’s different here (than Italy). Here, you have a lot of competitors, and a lot of strong teams, with a great squad and I think it’s more difficult now, to win the league.”