Antonio Conte Says 'Complete Striker' Harry Kane Would Be His No. 1 Target

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted if he could buy one striker in the world it would be Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane. 

Conte, who recently added forward Alvaro Morata to his squad for £58 million, stated that it would take a world-record fee of £100 million-plus to snap up Englishman Kane from Spurs, per Martyn Ziegler in The Times:

"For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world. If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane, right. He is a complete striker. He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he's strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left. He's a complete player.

"If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100 million. At least. For me, if I see this price for a striker I know for sure he's a big striker."

Kane, 24, has been one of the Premier League's top marksmen for Spurs over the last three seasons.

He has scored at least 20 goals in each English top-flight campaign since 2014-15, joining an elite group of players when he passed the mark last term, per Squawka:

A phenomenal return of eight goals in his last three appearances of the 2016-17 season propelled him to 29 strikes for the campaign and his second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot award. 

It is little surprise that Conte should covet a player of such pedigree who has proved so effective in the Premier League.

It is something of a surprise, though, that the Italian manager should be so candid about his admiration of Kane, especially given Spurs are one of Chelsea's fiercest rivals.

As noted on ESPN.co.uk, it is also "hardly a ringing endorsement of [Morata]," who signed for the Blues as Diego Costa's likely permanent replacement only last week.

Per MailOnline's Robert Summerscales, Spain international Costa, who top-scored for the Blues with 20 goals as they won the league last term, has been told by Conte he is not in the future plans.