Chelsea may be forced into embarrassing Diego Costa U-turn
With Chelsea making little progress in signing a new striker, Antonio Conte may be forced into an embarrassing U-turn to keep Diego Costa.
Manchester United have officially agreed a fee with Everton for Romelu Lukaku. The man nailed on as favourite to replace Diego Costa is now joining Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford. This leaves Chelsea scrabbling for another name big enough to lead the line for the Premier League champions. Will the Blues sign Alvaro Morata? Or will Antonio Conte be forced into an embarrassing Diego Costa U-turn.
With the Lukaku developments, the latest Chelsea story claims that they will hold out for a significant fee before letting Costa go. This just sounds like the Blues looking for a way to keep hold of the striker.
"Chelsea’s asking price will start at more than £60million.The Premier League champions are not prepared to be bullied into a cut-price deal, though Costa has made it clear he is not interested in a transfer to anywhere other than [Atletico Madrid]. – via Daily Mail"
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Costa revealed that Conte had informed him he was not in his plans for the coming season. Hence, he would be leaving the Blues to find first-team football elsewhere. A return to Atletico Madrid has seemed like the most likely deal, despite the Spanish club’s transfer ban.
However, Chelsea are now digging in their heels over the asking price. The £60 million valuation is believed to be significantly different from what Atletico are prepared to pay.
Some may think of this as the Blues looking to extract as much value as possible from the out-of-favour forward. Recent developments, though, make it seem like a sly plan to keep Costa in West London.
Currently, the Blues will be left with just Michy Batshuayi should Costa leave. Potential rotation candidates such as Dominic Solanke and Bertrand Traore have already been sold. Chelsea continue to be linked with Alvaro Morata, but the club’s inability to close a deal that already had one foot over the finish line means that hopes aren’t high.
Atletico’s transfer ban may work in Conte’s favour. Diego Simeone’s side can only officially finalise transfers in January. Hence, Costa could do a six-month shift at Stamford Bridge before taking off in the winter transfer window. This would buy the board extra time to move for a marquee name.
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There is still plenty of time left in the transfer window and thus panic is perhaps premature. However, it is the nature of the failed transfers that are causing many to worry. Will Chelsea be able to bring in a proven goalscorer? Or is the embarrassing Costa U-turn inevitable? Sound off below!