Chelsea’s Antonio Cone admits trying to sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham before Manchester City moved in.
The Italian admits they made a move for the right-back, who was eventually sold to Manchester City for a record fee for a defender in excess of £50 million.
Conte said: “If you want Walker, you know that Walker is expensive. We tried to buy Walker.
“Honestly, I think now every single player is expensive. For you to even enquire about one player, he is expensive.”
England’s Kyle Walker was wanted by Chelsea
Kyle Walker’s move to Manchester City made plenty of headlines, but a switch to Chelsea would have been even more controversial.
Not only would it have seen him remain in London and play for a rival, but the two teams have clashed in unsavoury circumstances on the pitch in recent seasons.
Walker may even have felt uncomfortable about joining a team which have such bad blood with Spurs.
Kyle Walker in Manchester City training
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy may even have snubbed Chelsea’s advances outright.
The two clubs have not seen eye to eye behind the scenes too in recent years, recently battling to play games at Wembley, and going a few years back, Tottenham were angered by Chelsea’s attempts to sign Luka Modric and refused to deal with them.
The Willian transfer saga did not help, while just last year Spurs threatened to report Chelsea to the FA for an approach to sign young talent Nya Kirby, The Times reported.
Conte’s approach for Walker may have been real, but it never stood a chance.
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