Chelsea Transfer News: Christian Benteke, Diego Costa Plan Amid Latest Rumours

Incoming Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is reportedly hoping to sign Liverpool's Christian Benteke to partner Diego Costa up front at Stamford Bridge.

According to the Times' Matt Hughes (h/t James Benson of the Daily Express), Conte is hoping to deploy either a 3-3-4 formation—as he did with Italy against Belgium at the UEFA European Championship—or a 4-4-2 system, necessitating two strikers either way.

With Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata likely to cost more than the Blues are willing to pay, Benteke is now being considered, per Hughes (h/t Benson).

A largely poor debut campaign at Anfield saw the Belgium international muster just 10 goals, and Reds boss Jurgen Klopp "may be prepared to cut the club’s losses" on him after he failed to live up to his £32.5 million price tag.

Bleacher Report UK's Jack Lusby was one of many to be frustrated with the striker's efforts last season:

While he made 42 appearances in all competitions, Benteke was largely restricted to short cameo outings in the latter part of the season.

The striker is clearly going to factor in game time when he makes a decision on his future in the coming weeks, per Squawka News:

As for Costa, like the majority of Chelsea's players he endured a torrid start to last year's campaign but enjoyed a resurgence under Guus Hiddink in the second half of the season, finishing with a tally of 16 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Per WhoScored.com, Costa has stood out among the Premier League's frontmen in the last two years:

The Blues have few options beyond the Spain international up front so more firepower is needed, but with his healthy number of assists, Costa demonstrated he could work well with a partner by supplying him with chances.

Further, a duo with Costa's tenacity and Benteke's power could cause serious problems for opposition defences.

However, while Liverpool aren't likely to expect to recoup all the money they paid for him, they'll want as much as they can get, so it could be a gamble to spend big money on a player with confidence as low as his.