Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte insists his time with Chelsea would've been more successful if they'd landed his top transfer targets.
Conte revealed to the Telegraph that he was in constant communication with both of his top transfer targets.
“I asked for two players and we were very, very close after we won the league," Conte said.
“One player was Romelu Lukaku, the second player was Virgil van Dijk.
“These two players were very, very close.
“We were in contact every day and I always said that with these two players we would improve my team by 30 per cent."
Conte was finally able to sign Lukaku after he took over at Inter Milan, with the striker scoring 34 goals in 51 games across all competitions.
And the Italian boss insisted he feels he was right to target him, and has also been vindicated in his pursuit of Van Dijk.
Conte continued: “I think maybe we lost the momentum to bring Chelsea at the very top and then to stay for many years.
“It was a pity that it didn't happen and Romelu is showing with Inter that my idea was right and also Van Dijk has shown with Liverpool that my idea was right for the club."
