Chelsea complete deadline day signing of Torino defender Davide Zappacosta in £23million deal

CHELSEA have announced the signing of Davide Zappacosta from Torino.

The 25-year-old Italian international has joined the Blues on a four-year contract in a £23million deal.

Antonio Conte secured his signing just minutes before the transfer window slammed shut.

And the star, who operates as either full-back or wing-back, is delighted to have moved to the champions.

He told ChelseaFC.com: "It is a dream for me to join Chelsea and play in the Premier League.

";I am very excited to be here and start working with the team.

"I hope I can show my quality to the coach, my team-mates and the supporters."

Blues technical director Michael Emenalo added: "Davide is a player of international calibre who Antonio Conte knows well and we have been aware of for some time.

"We are very pleased to be able to bring him to the club and believe he will become an important member of the squad."

Zappacosta began his career in the Italian fourth-tier Isola Liri.

He then joined Atalanta in Serie A before going on to play first-team football with Avellino, who had purchased co-ownership rights to the defender.