Atletico Madrid may as well give up on their pursuit of Diego Costa, with the Telegraph reporting that the striker is “100%” staying at Chelsea.
The Spain international, who missed out on Vincente del Bosque’s Euro 2016 squad because of concerns over his fitness, had been linked with a return to his former La Liga club.
And while Costa has usually been deployed as a lone striker, the same paper has suggested that the forward is hoping to partner Alvaro Morata next season if the Blues can bring him in from Real Madrid.
Chelsea have already signed Michy Batshuayi from Marseille, and that suggests Antonio Conte is finally getting serious about turning the club’s ailing fortunes around.
Costa found the back of the net just 12 times last season, a relatively disappointing return for a striker who was once one of the most feared in the Premier League.
It’s up to Conte to arrest that slump. The new manager has shown with Italy that he can get the best out of fairly unknown players, so it will be interesting to see what he does with the more temperamental characters in the squad, particularly Costa.
Rather than relying solely on Costa, Conte is hoping to have plenty of top quality competition for places next season, and that could be just the kick into action that the player needs.
Check out Football Advisor for profitable betting predictions
