Diego Costa is set to reject a move to China and extend his stay at Chelsea, according to reports
According to the Sun, Chelsea will offer Diego Costa a massive wage package in order to convince him to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond this season. The Spanish international’s future has been up in the air recently but the Sun claim that Chelsea have already agreed a deal in principle with Costa and his representatives.
They state that Costa will sign a five-year deal worth £220,000 a week plus bonuses which could see his overall pay package rise to £65m by the end of the five years. The deal would take him into the top 5 earners in the English Premier League, a list that is currently topped by Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney who is on £300,000 a week.
It would also make him Chelsea’s highest paid player, putting him above his compatriot Cesc Fabregas, according to the Sun. Fabregas’ future at Stamford Bridge is also the subject of speculation given that he has struggled to break into the first team despite impressing this season.
Costa’s Chelsea future was thrown into doubt at the start of January after reports emerged that he had been unsettled by an offer from China and subsequently fallen out with manager Antonio Conte. The reports also claimed that he had rejected a new contract as he was intent on moving to China.
Most recently, it was claimed that Costa was set to leave Chelsea after being offered a whopping €30 million a year deal with an unnamed Chinese side. It appears that Chelsea have now made moves to ensure the Spaniard feels he is compensated fairly and is not looking for more wages elsewhere.
At just 28, Costa still has a few years left at the top of the game and it would be surprising to see him sacrifice that for a move to a less competitive league. However, we have seen, with the cases of Oscar and Axel Witsel, that a few players are too tempted by the riches of the Chinese Super League to turn down their ridiculous offers.
Costa, however, has always looked like an absolute competitor and his 15 goals in 23 league games for Chelsea this season have contributed immensely to their title bid and he is definitely a contender for Player of the Season should Chelsea go on to win the title.
Costa will have 2 years remaining on his contract at the end of the season but if the Sun are to be believed, his new contract should tie him down until 2022 by which time he will be nearing the end of his career.
