Chelsea striker Diego Costa played an influential role in the club’s Premier League win last season, and hence, it was surprising to see him announce that he was not in manager Antonio Conte’s plans for the future.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has weighed in with his views and has said that the Spaniard will be a difficult player to replace.
“He’s a fantastic striker and we all saw that last season and since he’s been at Chelsea. He would be very difficult to replace, there’s no doubt about it,” Lampard told Sky Sports.
“He’s an all-round physical presence that also has the quality to get goals, that’s not easy to find in the modern day.”
Costa has been linked with a move to former club Atletico Madrid. Reportedly, Atletico is the only club he is interested in joining, but the Spanish side cannot register new players until January 2018 due to a transfer ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This could definitely affect the move.
This could definitely adversely affect the move as Chelsea seem to be keen on getting rid of the striker before the pre-season begins and are definitely not favourable to keeping him till January, which seems like the most logical option.
Costa, despite all the controversy that surrounds him, scored 22 goals in 42 appearances for the London side last season as they secured the Premier League title after a miserable season that saw former manager Jose Mourinho get fired mid-season. Everton striker Romelu Lukaku scored 26 goals last season and has been linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea face competition from Manchester United for the Belgian.
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