British-Based Journalist Still 'Expects' Chelsea to Land Swansea City Forward Llorente

Fernando Llorente has once again been tipped to join Chelsea as speculation over the striker's Swansea future continues.

Bleacher Report football journalist Dean Jones took to his Twitter account to tout the Spain international as the next man to join Antonio Conte's squad as the Blues ramp up their transfer market plans.

Llorente was a Chelsea target during the January transfer window, but failed to move to Stamford Bridge as the Swans rejected their overtures to bring him to west London.

In spite of that move not materialising, Conte has still retained interest in prising Llorente away from the Liberty Stadium, and would likely utilise him as back-up for £60m summer recruit Alvaro Morata.

Chelsea do already have Michy Batshuayi in reserve in the event that another marksman is required, but the France international appears to be falling out of favour under Conte and could find himself even further down the pecking order if Llorente rocks up at Chelsea.

The reigning Premier League Champions are also still trying to get rid of Diego Costa after the forward was told that he was free to leave. Despite interest from Atletico Madrid and AC Milan, however, he remains on their books.

Llorente helped fire Swansea to Premier League survival last term with his 15 goals in 35 matches aiding Paul Clement's men in staving off an unlikely relegation battle.

The ex-Juventus star joined Swansea from Sevilla in a £5m switch last July, and only has one year left to run on the two-year contract he penned on his arrival in south Wales.

With no news about the 31-year-old wanting to extend his current deal with the Swans, rumours have continued to circulate about Chelsea's interest.

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If the Blues hope to lure him away from one side of the UK to the other, though, they may have to shell out a fair amount of cash to do so.

Swansea have already shown that they are no pushovers in this summer's market, with the club slapping a £50m price tag on Everton target Gylfi Sigurdsson.

While they would not be able to command such a fee for Llorente, the Swans' American owners will demand a fair price if they decide to negotiate with Chelsea over his sale.