Diego Costa has been sensationally dropped from the Chelsea squad which take on champions Leicester City this weekend.
The Spain international has been in superb form for the Blues this season, scoring 14 times as Antonio Conte’s side surged to the top of the Premier League table. And he was expected to play another key role at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, when they look to get back to winning ways following defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their last outing.
However, The Telegraph have broke the news that Costa will play no part in the clash against Claudio Ranieri’s champions after a bust-up with a club fitness coach which Conte was also dragged into. Indeed, it has now transpired that the 28-year-old has not trained with the first team for three days and has not even travelled to Leicester.
It has been suggested that the root of the problem is interest in the striker from the Chinese Super League, with Tianjin Quanjian said to be willing to pay as much as £80million for his signature. And they are also prepared to make the former Atletico Madrid man one of the best-paid players in world football with an annual salary of £30million.
Such riches are sure to make Costa think twice about his future, despite the fact Chelsea had up until this point been optimistic of tying him down to a new contract. Despite the interest from China it is believed Blues owner Roman Abramovich is determined to keep hold of the Brazilian-born star, who remains under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2019.
