da dobrowin： Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed he’s confident of keeping Diego Costa this summer but is not aware of a new contract on the table for the Spaniard, The Daily Mail reports.
What’s the word?
da bet nacional： One of the sagas of the January transfer window revolved around Chelsea superstar Diego Costa, who was reported to have fallen out with manager Antonio Conte amidst interest from the mega-rich clubs of China. However, the problems seem to have been resolved.
Costa, an influential part of Chelsea’s rise to the top of the Premier League this season, has struggled to perform to his highest levels in 2017 and has only scored once since the turn of the calendar year- with Chelsea only winning once when the Spaniard has not found the net.
Following the incidents of January, many expected Costa to move on this summer but it seems Antonio Conte doesn’t believe that will happen, as he revealed he’s confident of keeping the former Atletico Madrid man but admitted a final decision will have to be made this summer.
What was said?
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup clash with Wolves today, Conte revealed he doesn’t know anything about a rumoured contract extension offered to Costa and was adamant a final decision would be made this summer.
‘I don’t know about this situation. I think now it’s very important to be focused on the present and not to look so far forward. At the end of the season we will see the situation.’
However, he then stated he’s confident the Blues’ top-scorer will remain for the next campaign:
‘Yes, I’m confident. I repeat: now it’s important to keep the great concentration for the present. The present is tomorrow’s game against Wolverhampton. We must go in the next round.’
How crucial is Costa?
Diego Costa was a extremely important figure during his maiden campaign in the Premier League, where the Blues won the title, but his performances were surrounded by some controversies. Last season, the controversies were present again- although this time so were the performances.
Under the guidance of Antonio Conte though, Costa has removed the controversial incidents from his game and has returned to his finest form in front of goal, netting 15 goals in the Premier League, although he’s hit a blip in the past six weeks.
Costa will remain as an important member of the squad though for the remainder of the season and will be expected to be back amongst the goals imminently. If he was to leave this summer, then Chelsea would have a hard task finding a replacement.
[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]