The Brazilian born striker is prepared to finish the season with Chelsea despite the lure of a big money offer from China.
Diego Costa's head has been turned by a move to China as Super League club Tianjin Quanjian are attracting the forward with a bumper contract worth an astonishing £30 million a year.
He was not in the squad for his side’s 3-0 away win at Leicester this weekend amid speculation surrounding his future and reports of a fiery bust up with a Blues fitness coach.
Antonio Conte has denied this is the reason for Costa’s absence – the striker hasn’t trained since Tuesday – and says the Spain international is suffering with a back injury.
It is believed Costa - who is under contract until 2019 – is certain his future now lies elsewhere and he will reject any offer of a new contract from Chelsea. However, he is prepared to stay until the end of the season and move in the summer. This is reflected in the odds as he is 1/6 with Sky Bet to still be at Chelsea next month.
Yet the West London side proved at the weekend they can play without their target man and the fluid front three of Hazard, Pedro and Willian ran riot at the King Power. This could convince the Chelsea hierarchy they have enough without him and it is not crazy to suggest they will cash in on the unsettled player. You can get best odds of 4/1 for Costa to sign for any Chinese club this month.
If you were #CFC's Diego Costa and were getting offered £30m-a-year to play in China, what would you do?
— Oddschecker (@Oddschecker) January 16, 2017
