Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is prepared to sell Diego Costa in the summer, even if the controversial Spain international "redoubles his efforts and wins back his place" in the Stamford Bridge starting XI.
Matt Law of the Telegraph reported the Italian will "cash in" on the striker after major interest from Chinese football in his services. The player has been forced to continue training on his own at Cobham after Chelsea beat champions Leicester City in Costa's absence.
Law wrote:
"Conte talks regularly with his squad and maintains an open door policy for his players, but he has not set aside time to summon Costa for a pre-planned heart-to-heart.
Any peace meeting or apology would need to be instigated by Costa, who has been urged to back down by team-mates, as Conte’s philosophy is not to offer any of his players special treatment.
Conte intends to assess Costa’s fitness, performance and state of mind in training this week before deciding whether or not he will play against Hull City on Sunday.
Rather than cancel a scheduled day off with his family to speak to Costa in private, Conte once again allowed the player to stew on his actions of last week and train alone at Chelsea’s Cobham base.
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The Sunday Mirror's Steve Stammers reported Roman Abramovich will not let the player go in January, as he is cautious of selling to the Chinese Super League during the winter, not wanting to set a precedent with the loss of a major Premier League talent.
Neil Ashton and Justin Allen of The Sun wrote Tianjin Quanjian are ready to offer Costa a salary of £30 million per year tax free—which equates to just under £577,000 per week—as well as a £5 million signing bonus.
The money on offer even dwarfs the riches available in England, and there could be a drain of talent leaving the Premier League as a result in the near future, changing the landscape of club football.
Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku have emerged as frontrunners to replace Costa once Chelsea pull the trigger on any potential sale, per Law. Conte is also reported to be monitoring Alexis Sanchez's situation at Arsenal, with the Chile superstar deciding on his future.
Match of the Day pundit and former Premier League striker Ian Wright suggested something has "turned" Costa (h/t BBC Sport):
Law added the striker is now fully aware the Chelsea board will not let him leave in the coming weeks, and Costa has continued to adhere to the club's wishes to see him train and regain fitness.
Costa has been the lifeblood of the Blues' Premier League challenge this season, and the club simply would not be able to find a suitable world-class replacement in January, when European clubs in the UEFA Champions League refuse to sell their stars.
It is no surprise Costa is tempted by the money on offer as he rushes towards the wrong side of 30, but Conte requires the attacker's services if the club believes it can win the title this term.
Eden Hazard is back to his best, but he needs a tough entity in front of him to share the responsibility of creating success.
Costa's days at Chelsea might be numbered, but a switch cannot happen until the Blues have a replacement of the calibre of Morata or Lukaku.
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