Despite all the speculation surrounding Diego Costa, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has said that the Spaniard will not be leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.
Costa has had a poor season at Chelsea, scoring just 12 times from 28 Premier League appearances. His performances, coupled with the poor form of most of his other teammates, resulted in the defending champions finishing 10th in the Premier League last season. In fact, the Blues went dangerously close to the relegation zone in November last year, before the then manager Jose Mourinho was fired.
These poor performances have given rise to a number of exit rumours, with various reports claiming that the Spaniard wants a move away from the West London club.
Atletico Madrid themselves have fueled these rumours, with their president Enrique Cerezo suggesting that the Rojiblancos are close to signing the Chelsea frontman.
“We are there, he wants to come. But that is already complicated. Simeone wants new players and one of those is a striker. We desire a striker with goals, a good salary, and the ability to help us win many trophies,” Cerezo had said last month.
However, new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is planning to play the 4-2-4 system at the Stamford Bridge, and needs as many top quality strikers as he can get. In a recent press conference, Conte highlighted the fact that Costa is an integral part of the Chelsea setup, and the Blues have no plans to sell him.
“For me, Costa is a fantastic player, one of the best strikers in the world,” Conte was quoted as saying in Sky Sports. “We are Chelsea and Chelsea are one of the best clubs in the world and for this reason, I think Diego Costa must stay. I see him very happy and I don’t know any other situation. Diego Costa is Chelsea’s player.”
Conte has shown an affinity to playing two strikers up front. Be it the 3-5-2 formation that he played during his time as the manager of Juventus and Italy, or the 4-2-4 formation that he is reportedly going to use at Chelsea, the two strikers up front have always been a constant.
This does seem to be the in intent, with the signing of Michy Batshuayi from Olympique Marseilles. While it was Ruben Loftus-Cheek who played up front with Costa in Chelsea’s first pre-season game against Rapid Wien, it will be interesting to see how the more seasoned forwards Costa and Batshuayi lineup alongside each other.
