Chelsea transfer news: Antonio Conte is desperate for fresh faces at Stamford Bridge but loathe to pay over ‘crazy’ odds

ANTONIO CONTE is a frustrated man.

The Chelsea boss is keen to bring in at least three new faces before least  three  players  before the transfer window closes this month.

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But the Italian is loathe to pay over the odds in a ‘crazy’ market where what he describes as average players are going for more than £50million.

Conte’s stance on the state of European football’s transfer market could have been penned by Arsene Wenger.

Yet his desire to guard Roman Abramovich’s purse strings took little account of the leading role the Russian oligarch played in sending values spiralling — splurging a mind-boggling £1.2BILLION in his 13 years at Stamford Bridge.

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So far, only Leicester midfielder N’Golo Kante and Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi have been added to a squad that failed so dismally to defend the Prem title last season.

Conte wants to bring in a centre-back but is facing a battle with Napoli over Kalidou Koulibaly, while efforts to sign another striker have been hit by Everton’s £65m price tag for Romelu Lukaku.

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Conte said: “At this moment it’s very difficult to buy because, if you ask for a player of the medium level, they might ask for £55m.

“It’s a crazy market. It’s very difficult to enter the market with these prices and in this condition.

“I’m not comfortable. I don’t like to pay a lot of money. If a player deserves us to pay lots of money, then it’s right.

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“But for a medium player, it’s right to pay the right price, not £20m to £30m over. That’s not right.

“The money is not mine, but I don’t like it the same. I don’t find it right.

“That’s why we are waiting for the right situation.

“We must be patient and wait. Not only for Chelsea.

“I saw also with the other clubs, it’s very difficult to have a good market.

“But now it’s a real situation. We must live with this situation in the right way.”