Costa granted extra time off

TRICKY CALL Chelsea’s Spanish international to skip preseason training with speculations mounting

Costa has been permitted by Premier League champions Chelsea to miss the start of pre-season training on Monday, fuelling speculation he is set to rejoin Atletico Madrid.

The 28-year-old Brazil-born Spanish international is still keen on a return to Atletico despite them not being allowed to field new players until January because of a transfer ban.

“Another absentee (new signing Antonio Rudiger was also absent) was Diego Costa, after it was agreed with the club that he should have an extra few days off,” read a statement on the club website.

Costa enjoyed a fractious relationship with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte last season despite scoring 20 goals in 35 league appearances in Chelsea’s titlewinning campaign. The player revealed last month the Italian had texted him to say he was no longer part of his plans.

However, Conte’s aim of replacing Costa with Romelu Lukaku went badly astray when the Belgian international jilted Chelsea’s advances for Manchester United’s, despite both clubs offering the same transfer fee of £75million.

Costa – whose contract runs till 2019 – caught the eye in his four-year spell at Atletico before joining Chelsea for £32 million in 2014.

Last month Atletico lost an appeal against a FIFA-imposed sanction which means that, while they can still buy players this summer, they will not be able to register or play them until January.The Premier League champions have, however, strengthened their defensive options by completing the signing of Antonio Rudiger on a five-year contract from Roma.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the Germany defender was joining the Premier League champions for an initial £29 million,which could rise as high as £34 million with add-ons for a player who has won 17 caps for Germany and made four appearances in their Confederations Cup campaign in Russia, including in the final against Chile, which they won 1-0. Lukaku’s transfer from Everton to Manchester United, which the striker confirmed on Sunday, has left Chelsea in a catch-22 situation with regards to Diego Costa.

Costa has claimed that manager Antonio Conte has informed him that he is not in his plans for the upcoming season and the Spaniard One thought Chelsea could have considered pacifying Costa to remain at Stamford Bridge till they find a replacement but the Spaniard is adamant, he wants to leave and join Atletico Madrid, the club where he made his name.

Chelsea have started negotiations with Atletico and though they have