CHELSEA v WEST HAM The cost of Costa exit? A complete killer blow to Chelsea

Old boy Monkou on Blues’ decline

LOSING Diego Costa to La Liga was the killer blow that has hurt Chelsea more than any other this season.

That is according to former Stamford Bridge star Ken Monkou, who believes the Blues have never recovered from Costa’s £57million departure to Atletico Madrid following his high-profile fallout with boss Antonio Conte.

Costa was Chelsea’s heartbeat, warrior, talisman and match-winner – scoring 20 times as Conte’s stars won the Premier League title last season.

And as Chelsea try to keep alive their fading hopes of a top-four finish against West Ham at Stamford Bridge today, Monkou believes they are still paying a hefty price for a feud that robbed them of their star man.

After a rocky relationship, Conte effectively sacked the striker via a text message that soured the post- title celebrations last summer – and left the Brazilian-born Spanish international heading back to his former club in Madrid.

Dutchman Monkou is convinced the ramifications of that acrimonious dispute are still being felt.

He said: “In any team you need a figurehead – a player who leads you in battle and creates problems for the opposition, and Costa was that player for Chelsea.

“He was Chelsea’s Didier Drogba or Zlatan Ibrahimovic – a player with a presence, charisma and aura around him on the pitch.”

Monkou (below), a defender who made 119 appearances for Chelsea between 1989 and 1992 before joining Southampton, added: “Costa, Drogba and Ibra are players that set themselves apart because of their stature.

“And if you have someone like that in your team you are already one up against the opposition.

Presence

“Of course Chelsea have Eden Hazard, Willian, N’Golo Kante and Pedro, who are all top quality players.

“But in someone like Diego Costa you have a player who is an unknown quantity.

“Simply by being in the team his sheer presence will be a problem for opponents. When he played, Costa deflected attention away from teammates like Hazard and Willian.

“He often occupied two or three players because you simply couldn’t take the risk of leaving him alone.

“Having someone like that leading the attack is a huge boost for the rest of the players and since he left to go back to Atletico Madrid, Chelsea haven’t had that kind of figurehead – and they have missed him.

“Alvaro Morata has come in and I do like him as a player. He’s got plenty of qualities, especially in the air where he is very strong.

“But Morata doesn’t have that same air of menace this season that Costa gave Chelsea... they haven’t carried the same threat without him.”

Monkou believes Costa could still be a Chelsea star had the club employed an experienced former pro such as Frank Lampard in a buffer role between Conte and the boardroom.

“The dispute between Conte and Costa ultimately damaged Chelsea but maybe that could have been avoided if they had someone like Lampard, who is a great ambassador for Chelsea.

“He’s an experienced former player, with a strong understanding of the club, who could be useful in that kind of role to protect Chelsea’s interests. “Sometimes you need a different approach to handle volatile situations when problems arise and it’s not always a good thing to let the people involved settle disputes like that.

“Chelsea pay the manager and the players, and they have the right to expect everyone respects each other