Report: Costa dropped from Chelsea squad after training 'bust-up'
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has dropped reborn striker Diego Costa from Saturday's match against Leicester City following a training-ground "bust-up" with the club's fitness coach, according to multiple reports in England.
Costa apparently exchanged strong words with coach Julio Tous over an injury, which the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel believes is back-related. As a result, the 28-year-old did not train for the past three days.
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A £30-million-a-year deal is reportedly on the table from China, but The Telegraph's Matt Law notes Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is "adamant" Costa will not strong-arm a move to the lucrative Far East.
The striker's former teammate Oscar recently accepted a £60-million transfer to Shanghai SIPG, and Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas adds the sheer amount on offer to Costa has "unsettled" him this week.
The disagreement throws in doubt the Spain international's immediate future at Stamford Bridge, where he had forged something of a new beginning. No longer an ill-tempered striker who used Machiavellian tactics to draw opponents into scuffles, Costa played with a higher level of concentration and cut a more selfless figure.
His 14 Premier League goals lead the division, and his five assists for Chelsea rank second among his teammates.
He also went 11 league matches between September and December without getting a single booking - a remarkable turnaround for a player who often tested the referees' patience last season.
A heart-to-heart discussion with Conte prior to Euro 2016 apparently resolved any differences between the west London outfit and the combative 28-year-old, who admitted he came close to rejoining former club Atletico Madrid in the summer.
Peace was at risk when Costa quarreled with Conte over a substitution in October's first fixture against Leicester, although the feisty pair quickly dealt with the situation internally.
Costa has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current Chelsea pact.