Antonio Conte wants Alvaro Morata at Chelsea as Real Madrid chase Kylian Mbappe

Conte has tried to sign the striker twice before

Alvaro Morata has accepted he cannot dislodge Karim Benzema (Getty)

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will go back in for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata for a third time this summer, with the Spaniard set to be on the move again.

Real Madrid re-signed Morata from Juventus last summer in a deal to take him through to 2022 and despite still wanting to stay at the Bernabeu, he has realised manager Zinedine Zidane isn’t convinced by him, according to Spanish sport daily AS.

As a result, they report Conte has told Blues owner Roman Abramovich of his desire to bring the 24-year-old to Stamford Bridge, who Real are willing to let go for around €65m.

Conte first tried to sign Morata while Juventus manager in 2014, but even though the move still went ahead, the Italian left to become manager of the national team prior to his arrival in Turin.

And with Diego Costa’s future in doubt last summer with interest from Atletico Madrid, Conte again looked at Morata as a replacement, only for neither move to materialise.

One of the main factors in Morata’s desire to move on is that he has only featured in around a third of Madrid’s games this season, with Zidane – and club president Florentino Perez – both making it clear Karim Benzema is the side’s first-choice number nine.

Another factor is Madrid’s interest in signing Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe this summer, with Perez quoted as saying: “Mbappe and Benzema together? Everything’s possible.”