Chelsea’s Diego Costa to submit formal transfer request

Spain international Diego Costa is expected to hand in a formal transfer request at Chelsea during this summer’s transfer window, his lawyer Ricardo Cardoso has confirmed. The 28-year-old is not in Antonio Conte’s plans for next season with Alvaro Morata having brought in to take up the centre-forward position.

Costa’s relationship with Conte faded following a training bust-up in January, and the Italian head coach had since made his mind up that the Spaniard would be leaving the club in the summer. Despite this, the marksman still remains a Blues player, and his lawyer has confirmed that a transfer request will be placed to push through a move.

“We are going to use all legal mechanisms to hold Chelsea accountable for this behaviour, making it possible for Diego Costa to leave,” Cardoso told Spanish news agency EFE via Sky Sports News.

Atletico Madrid have been tipped to seal a summer agreement for Costa, but their transfer ban would restrict the marksman from earning valuable gametime until January. As a result, AC Milan are another option on the cards with the possibility of a temporary stint until the New Year.

With the Premier League season starting in just over a week’s time, Conte would surely not want the influence of Costa in his squad after the player went public to reveal the private text conversation in which the manager urged him to leave the club.

Costa has notched 58 goals during his three years at Stamford Bridge while helping Chelsea to the Premier League title in the 2014/15 and 2016/17 seasons. He has also become only the third Blues player after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Didier Drogba to notch 20 goals in two separate seasons, but this is where his record may end with his exit seemingly close.

Chelsea take on Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, and Costa is unlikely to be anywhere the bench after he was omitted from the club’s pre-season of Asia earlier last month.

Image – Getty