Jose Mourinho Comments on Diego Costa's Commitment to Chelsea

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has proclaimed Diego Costa is "happy" with life at Stamford Bridge despite a string of outbursts and recent controversies that might suggest otherwise.

Responding to a recent interview former Atletico Madrid hitman Costa gave to Spanish radio station Onda Cero, where he suggested a return to the Vicente Calderon may be possible, Mourinho stated, per the Guardian's Simon Burnton:   

"

He never said he’d like to go back, he said that in football you never know. Atletico is a great club, Madrid is a great city, La Liga is a great league, so why shouldn’t a player, 27 years old, think that in football it is possible to be back? I don’t see that as a problem. Diego is happy here, he likes to be here. He has three more years on his contract. I see him staying at Chelsea for three more years, no problem.

"

Speculation surrounding Costa's future at Stamford Bridge has grown increasingly fervent of late, partly due to the forward's staggered form, which has seen him net just four goals in 19 appearances this season.

Burnton references "despondent on-pitch behaviour" as well as an incident that saw Costa appear to throw his bib at manager Mourinho after discovering he wouldn't be substituted on against Tottenham Hotspur. However, Costa later admitted his error in that instance, per BBC Sport: "The bib [incident] is in the past. I made a mistake."

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Compared to the player we saw score 21 goals for the Blues last season and a stellar 36 goals in his last campaign for Atletico Madrid, Costa has been a shadow of his former self, starting the last two league games on the bench.

However, perhaps the question isn't whether Costa wishes to remain at Chelsea but whether Chelsea wish to keep the player. Former Premier League referee Howard Webb told Fletch and Sav the club should cash in:

"

"Should @ChelseaFC sell Costa?" @HowardMWebb feels @diegocosta has to go, revealing he's "hard work" to referee. https://t.co/lxYN0VoT25

— Fletch And Sav (@FletchAndSav) December 12, 2015"

Costa isn't the only Chelsea player to struggle in recapturing the form of last season's Premier League triumph, with Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and John Terry all below their usual best.

Chelsea travel to leaders Leicester City on Monday evening sitting 16th in the table, and maintaining morale is undoubtedly a hard task for Mourinho considering players like Costa expect to be challenging for the Champions League.

Meanwhile, former club Atletico Madrid are joint-level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga after defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on Sunday, showing they feel no hangover after losing the Spain international.

The Press Association's Matt McGeehan recently suggested Chelsea have made mistakes in the transfer market, namely selling Romelu Lukaku to Everton and bringing in Costa from Atleti:

Burnton pointed out that Chelsea have won just one of the 12 games in which Costa has failed to score this season, while Mourinho's men have prevailed in every match in which he has got on the scoresheet.

That statistic alone proves Chelsea play better when their frontman is firing on all cylinders, and Mourinho appears confident his forward is content enough to rediscover his stride in west London.