Antonio Conte brings to an end Diego Costa’s time at Chelsea

Diego Costa ended a major piece of speculation yesterday, announcing that Antonio Conte told him that he no longer has a place at Chelsea. The only remaining questions are where will Costa go next, and how much will Chelsea make on the sale.

Antonio Conte made it abundantly clear early in his tenure at Chelsea that he would have no “protected” players. A player’s past – his years of experience, the trophies he won for club and country, sentimental value to the club – were irrelevant as Conte built his first squad at Chelsea. Diego Costa sometimes seemed immune to this approach. To whatever extent he was during the season, that grace period is now over.

After Spain’s friendly with Colombia, Costa related how Antonio Conte told him that his time was up as a Blue. Costa said that he had not heard anything from the club beyond Conte, “but if the manager gets in contact with you to tell you that you are not wanted then you have to leave.”

"It seems I didn’t have a good season. It was just a simple message after all I’ve done for the club but if he doesn’t want me there then I will have to look for a [new] team. – Daily Mail"

This is the best possible outcome for Chelsea and – if not for Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban – Diego Costa. Too often, Chelsea waits until the last minute to make critical and sometimes obvious decisions. Conte ended the speculation early so that Costa and his representatives can find the best new club for him.

It also allows Chelsea to move forward aggressively and with clarity in the transfer market and in its loans. The vacant centre-forward spot in Chelsea’s lineup will be one more sign of intent to Romelu Lukaku, who now sees that nothing stands between him and the starting job at Chelsea. Likewise, Michy Batshuayi and Bertrand Traore have one fewer person ahead of them in the depth chart as they compete for the #2 or #3 spot.

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The fact of Costa’s departure and the way Conte supposedly broke the news are a sad end to Costa’s time at Chelsea. He scored 20 goals in two of his three seasons. He was a strong player under Jose Mourinho, and had the potential to be outstanding under Antonio Conte. However, his attitude – his long-time Achilles’ heel – blocked his momentum.

Costa played an important role in Chelsea’s last two Premier League titles. But contra his strongest apologists, he did not lead Chelsea to those triumphs. He was never indispensable to Chelsea’s ambitions or triumphs, and took up badge-kissing a bit too late to make a difference.

Antonio Conte can not run the risk of another season of outbursts, petulance and dissent on and off the pitch. He has a Premier League title, a pile of money and the full backing of the board. He no longer needs to make whatever trade-offs kept Diego Costa in the lineup last season.

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Hopefully the fans will remember Costa’s goals and him kissing (biting) the badge at Wembley, and just enough of the other stuff to admit that Conte did what he had to do.