DIEGO COSTA will have showdown talks with boss Antonio Conte at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground THIS MORNING.
The Times have reported that the Spain striker will hold crucial talks with his manager to discuss whether he will resume training with the first team squad, amid fears lucrative interest from China has turned his head.
Conte and Costa had a furious bust-up exchange at Chelsea’s training ground last week, in which the Italian boss shouted “Go to China!” at Costa during their row.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip ahead of the January window with SunSport’s daily LIVE blog
The unsettled Brazil-born forward was then left out of the club’s 3-0 win over Leicester City, though Conte insisted it was down to the back injury and nothing to do with the row.
But the report continues that Conte has concerns over the striker’s attitude amid fears the offer of a mammoth £30milllion salary from Tianjin Quanjian has turned his head.
The Times add that that Chelsea executives are also concerned about the situation after the 28-year-old rejected the club’s offer of an improved contract worth £200,000-a-week.
Costa is under contract until 2019 and Chelsea have already offered a big pay rise on his £150,000-a-week wages in return for a long-term commitment.
Related stories
Conte and Costa have not spoken since the manager dropped him from the squad that travelled to Leicester on Friday, but Conte wants the meeting today to assess if the striker as he begins his preparations for Sunday's Premier League match against Hull at Stamford Bridge. Costa trained alone yesterday following the bust-up.
Speaking after the win at Leicester, Conte claimed: "I like to tell the truth and not lie. Diego stopped training on Tuesday because he felt a pain in his back and he didn’t train. That’s the truth.”
Leave a comment