Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has admitted that the club launched a last-ditch attempt to sign Kyle Walker from London rivals Tottenham before his move to Manchester City.
The England international secured a big money transfer to City earlier this month after weeks of speculation linking him with a switch to the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea are in the market for a player to operate at wing-back this summer and missed out on Danilo, who also secured a transfer to City.
And while not revealing how much they offered Spurs for Walker, Conte has confirmed that Chelsea lodged a bid for the 27-year-old, but were unable to compete with City on a financial level.
“If you want Walker, you know that Walker is expensive. We tried to buy Walker,” Conte is quoted as saying by the London Evening Standard.
"Honestly, I think now every single player is expensive. For you to even enquire about one player, he is expensive.
"You go to buy a right-back, a left-back or a central defender and he is expensive. It is very difficult in the transfer market for the teams that need to improve their squads."
