Chelsea Transfer News: Douglas Costa, John Terry, Jamie Vardy, Top Blues Rumours

Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa has revealed he rejected the chance to join Chelsea in the summer as he was desperate to work under Pep Guardiola.

According to Costa, Blues manager Jose Mourinho was a massive admirer of his, but when the German giants made their intentions clear, there was only one place he was going to end up, per Bild (h/t Ben Nagle of the MailOnline):

"Chelsea also wanted to sign me. They were seriously interested and made great efforts. But I really only wanted to work with Guardiola and join Bayern. I made a conscious decision to join Bayern because of the presence of Guardiola. I was convinced that I would learn more at Bayern under Guardiola."

CHRISTOF STACHE/Getty Images

At the moment, you’d have to say Costa has been vindicated in his decision. With Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben injured for large parts of the campaign, Bayern needed some fresh impetus on the flanks, and the Brazilian international has provided that and more to this point.

What sets Costa apart is there has been an end product to his game too, as we can see courtesy of these statistics from Bayern’s Twitter feed:

Chelsea did eventually land a forward player in Pedro in the summer window, but the former Barcelona man has yet to sparkle for the Blues.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Costa does seem like one that got away, though. The Brazilian is a player who seems to be blossoming into a superstar under the guidance of Guardiola.

John Terry Reveals Manchester City Offer

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Chelsea skipper John Terry has revealed Manchester City made a bid to sign him in 2009, but the offer was rejected by the Blues.

Speaking to former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher in an interview for the Daily Mail, the centre-back spoke candidly about the interest from the Manchester outfit, insisting he was willing to move on if the club accepted the offer:

"

There was the thing with Manchester City. They offered £29 million for me in 2009 and Chelsea turned it down.

I had a meeting with Roman (Abramovich) about it. I said to him, if the club accepts the offer then it tells me you don’t want me. So then you haven’t got a choice, you have got to go. But if they don’t accept the offer, it tells me everything that I need to know. Chelsea refused the offer and that was it.

"

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

You suspect Terry was glad Chelsea did tell City he wasn’t for sale. In the subsequent years the former England defender has cemented his status as one of the club’s greatest captains of all time and was the standout defender in English football as the Blues raced to the Premier League last term.

It’ll be interesting to see if Terry ever does leave Chelsea, especially with his contract up at the end of the season. He confides in Carragher that he couldn’t ever play for another English team, although a move to Major League Soccer may appeal to him. Should he depart Stamford Bridge at the end of the campaign, it’ll be a sad day for all associated with the Blues.

Jamie Vardy Set for New Leicester Contract

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Leicester City are reportedly ready to double the wages of star striker Jamie Vardy, as they seek to bat away interest from the likes of Chelsea.

That’s according to an exclusive piece from Dave Armitage of the Daily Star, who claims that’d see the 28-year-old forward earn £90,000-a-week. Armitage noted both the Blues and Tottenham Hotspur have been keeping tabs on the forward after a remarkable campaign.

It's also written that a new contract is likely to include a release clause for Vardy of around £30 million. The former Fleetwood Town forward has shot to prominence this season with some blistering goalscoring, netting in a record 11 consecutive Premier League games.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

As WhoScored.com noted here, Vardy is actually a little unlucky not to have more than 14 goals in English football’s top flight this season:

Any interest from Chelsea would be understandable. Jose Mourinho’s side have been pretty ponderous going forward for much of the campaign, with Diego Costa lacking in quality and energy at the point of attack.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Indeed, Vardy’s vibrant displays have put a lot of the Premier League’s usual elite forwards to shame. As we can see courtesy of Uber Football Facts, the numbers do not make good reading for some of the division’s grandest clubs:

"

Premier League goals this season: 21 - Vardy & Mahrez 20 - Manchester United 18 - Liverpool 17 - Chelsea pic.twitter.com/TbkubZZxG4

— Uber Football Facts (@UberFootbalI) November 30, 2015"

A new deal with Leicester seems to make sense. Vardy has definitely earned the pay rise, and the Foxes fans will be delighted if he commits his future to the club. Chelsea, while in need of a player to spruce up their attacking play, may want to look for a striker who has shown consistent form over a much longer time period.