Chelsea drop major hint Antonio Conte expects to sign another striker with Bertrand Traore set to join Ajax on loan

Simon Johnson11 August 2016

Chelsea have dropped a major hint they do expect to sign another striker before the end of the month after agreeing to send Bertrand Traore on loan to Ajax.

Traore is highly rated by the club and has featured regularly up front during pre-season, during which he scored two goals.

The 20-year-old, who found the net four times in 20 appearances for Chelsea last term, is currently one of only four forwards at the club, along with Diego Costa, £33.1m summer buy Michy Batshuayi and Loic Remy.

But the latter has barely played in friendly games this summer and has been offered, along with £60m in cash, as part of a deal for Everton star Romelu Lukaku.

Even if he doesn't go to Goodison Park, Chelsea are keen to sell the France international, which makes the decision to loan out Traore all the more significant.

Chelsea have been in talks with Ajax over the last 48 hours about a season-long deal and are set to confirm Traore is joining the Dutch club.

New Ajax coach Peter Bosz wanted Traore having worked with him at Vitesse Arnhem, where he impressed on loan for 18 months between 2014-15.

Ajax will pay Chelsea a loan fee of around £1.7m, but Traore is expected to return and compete for a place at Stamford Bridge next year.

However, his impending departure leaves a gap in the squad, especially with Chelsea coach Antonio Conte wanting to play with two strikers this term.

Eden Hazard can play in a more advanced role if required, but Conte has been pushing to buy another centre forward all summer.

Chelsea failed in a bid to buy Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, but haven't given up on acquiring Lukaku, despite Everton insisting he's not for sale.

Chelsea players facing an uncertain future

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Standard Sport revealed back in April that the 23-year-old wanted to rejoin the Blues, just two years after being sold by them to Everton for £28m.

The Merseyside club want to have talks with the Belgium international over a new contract this week, but it is believed he still hasn't given up hope of going back to west London.

Chelsea have also been linked with another move for Inter Milan star Mauro Icardi as an alternative to Lukaku.

He has been monitored by Chelsea as a potential recruit since January last year and is thought to be considering leaving the San Siro.

Meanwhile, Santos president Modesto Roma has confirmed he has held talks with Chelsea in London this week.

Chelsea are keen to buy Santos midfielder Thiago Maia, who is currently playing for Brazil at the Olympics, for £15m.

Roma admits he also met with officials from Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, but claims a transfer of Maia or another of the club's prize assets, striker Gabriel Garbosa, wasn't discussed.

He told Goal.com: "We had productive conversations. We didn't come to buy or sell players, neither in London or Madrid. We came to build up relationships.

"There weren't offers, but we did talk about partnerships. I talked to Manchester United, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid."

However, Chelsea see Maia as a midfielder with great potential for the future and are expected to make a bid for the 19-year-old before the end of the month.

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