Antonio Conte’s training ground spat with Diego Costa seems a distant memory now.
Incredibly, it’s only a few weeks since the striker was dropped having his head turned by a potential move to the Chinese Super League.
To give him credit, the Spain international has responded superbly and got his head down since then to help the Blues to a nine-point lead at the top of the table.
And his manager is clearly happy to put the issue to bed, explaining to Sky Italia:
“I was very clear with him and raised my voice: and the player understood. Now everything is perfect.”
That might be putting it a little too simply, given that there was a time when Costa’s future looked very uncertain.
All the same, it’s refreshing to hear the manager talking openly about his relations with his players instead of continuing to brush the row under the carpet.
It’s obviously happy families at Chelsea now, but it remains to be seen whether the situation with the volatile forward will change again in the summer.
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