Chelsea striker Diego Costa has apparently had a furious bust-up with manager Antonio Conte.
London Evening Standard are reporting that the Spanish international was involved in a training ground spat with his manager which ended with Conte asking him to leave for China. It is being reported that Chinese outfit Tianjin are interested in signing the player.
Antonio Conte has decided to leave Costa out of his squad for today’s match against Leicester City following their bust-up.
The 28-year-old has been on fire this season with 14 goals in 19 league games. His absence will be a major blow for the Premier League leaders if Conte and Costa do not sort out their differences soon. Costa was close to leaving Chelsea in the summer, but a move was blocked. This training ground incident will surely raise questions over his future at Stamford Bridge again.
The report from Standard Sport adds that Costa’s agent Jorge Mendes is current in China and was pictured with the Tianjin president.
The Chinese outfit can afford to sign one more foreign player (as per the regulations) and they are looking to sign a world-class striker. Apparently, they are willing to offer Costa a contract of around £570,000-a-week and will submit a bid of £80m to convince the Blues to part with their prized asset.
Chelsea were planning to offer Costa a new deal this season. However, after the incident with Conte, reaching an agreement with the player might not be very easy for the Blues.
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