Diego Costa’s Chelsea future in doubt after bust-up with Antonio Conte

Diego Costa’s Chelsea future has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed that the Spain striker has been involved in a bust-up with manager Antonio Conte.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been involved in a row with manager Antonio Conte and a fitness coach over his fitness, which has put his future with the West London club in disarray.

Diego Costa has been a talisman for Chelsea this season, and he has led the club’s charge towards reclaiming the Premier League title this season. The Spain international has scored 14 goals for the Blues in the Premier League, romping to the top of the goalscoring charts and leading Chelsea to the top of the table.

The prolific striker’s influence has been undeniable this season, and he was at the centre of it all as Chelsea embarked on a club record breaking 13 league wins in a row, scoring match winning goals against Watford, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace are testament to lead his side to close wins.

Costa’s superb run as the leader of the Chelsea attack saw reports claiming last month that the striker was on the verge of being offered a new, improved deal from the club, with a bumper pay rise in the offing as well.

Costa himself recently indicated that he was much happier at Stamford Bridge this season, as he hailed the positive impact that manager Antonio Conte had on him and his teammates.

However, it now looks like Costa is back to his combative ways, with the alleged bust up with his manager putting his Chelsea future under cloud.

The reports also adds that Costa hasn’t travelled with the Chelsea squad to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening, claiming that the Spain international has not trained with the rest of the squad for the past three days, following the argument with the fitness coach over an injury.

Chelsea recently rejected a £50 million bid from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian, with the Asian club intending to return with an offer of £80 million for Costa, offering an outrageous £480,000 a week in wages to the striker.

Chelsea would be hoping to mend fences with Costa, as his form will be crucial to the club’s fortunes this season, but in case things don’t improve the Premier League top scorer could well be on his way to China in the January transfer window.

For now though, Antonio Conte has an unncessary headache to deal with, and in the immediate future the Italian manager needs to sort out his starting eleven in the absence of his star striker.