LONDON -- Antonio Conte insists he would not be comfortable with Chelsea paying over market value to secure their transfer targets in the final weeks of the transfer window.
The Premier League's bumper new £8 billion TV deal has prompted a huge rise in the transfer fees top English clubs are willing to sanction this summer. Manchester United broke the world transfer record to bring Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford in a £93 million deal, while rivals Manchester City made John Stones the second-most expensive defender in history when they acquired him for £47.5m from Everton.
Chelsea, in contrast, have been relatively restrained in the transfer market, spending a combined £63m to bring Michy Batshuayi and N'Golo Kante to Stamford Bridge while passing on several more expensive options.
Last week Conte voiced his frustration at what he described as a "very crazy" transfer market, with some recent reports suggesting that Napoli are holding out for as much as £60m before they agree to sell defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
At his Friday news conference, Conte admitted that Chelsea are in need of defensive reinforcements before the end of August -- but he is adamant that they will not be held to ransom if suitable fees can't be agreed.
Asked if he would be happy for Chelsea to pay too much to secure a player this summer, Conte replied: "No, I'm not comfortable. I don't like to pay a lot of money. If a player deserves us to pay [lots of] money, then it's right. But for a medium player, it's right to pay the right price, not £20-30m over. That's not right. The money is not mine, but I don't like it the same. I don't find it right.
"At this moment it's very difficult to buy because if you ask a player of the medium level, they might ask for £55m. For this reason, it's a crazy market. It's very difficult to enter the market with these prices and in this condition.
"That is why we are waiting for the right situation. We must be patient and wait. Not only for Chelsea. I saw also with the other clubs, it's very difficult to have a good market. But now it's a real situation. We must live with this situation in the right way.
"I am pleased to have these players. They have shown me great attitude, great behaviour. I'm delighted to train them every day. Now we have these players and we are very happy to work with them. But we have two weeks before the end of the transfer market. If we can improve this squad, we want to improve it."
Conte has just six fit senior defenders to call upon after Baba Rahman and Michael Hector were allowed to join Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively on loan for the season. American youngster Matt Miazga is also expected to depart on a temporary basis before the end of August.
Chelsea are waiting for clarity on Juan Cuadrado's situation after the player's agent, Alessandro Lucci, was quoted by SportItalia as saying he would fly to London on Friday in a bid to let his client re-join Juventus on loan.
Neither Cuadrado nor Loic Remy featured in Chelsea's matchday squad for Monday's 2-1 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge. And Conte declined to clarify whether either would be involved for Saturday's trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford.