Conte confirms Costa will leave Blues
Morata completes € 80m move from Madrid, targets goals and silverware for new club
>> LONDON: Chelsea striker Diego Costa was told in January that he would not feature in the Premier League club’s plans for the upcoming season, manager Antonio Conte said on Friday.
Costa scored 20 goals in 35 league appearances in Chelsea’s title-winning campaign last season amid local media speculation that he has an unfavourable relationship with the Italian manager.
The 28-year-old was left out of the Chelsea squad for the pre-season tour of Asia, starting with a game against Arsenal in Beijing yesterday.
“In January, the Costa situation was very clear for the club, for him and his agent,” Conte told reporters.
“I don’t to like to talk about players that don’t stay here — for me the situation is closed.”
Costa’s replacement Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata meanwhile has signed a five-year-deal on Friday in a deal reported to be worth up to €80 million (US$92.2 million).
“I am so happy to be here. It’s an incredible emotion to be part of this big club. I am looking to work hard, score as many goals as I can and to win as many trophies as possible,” the 24-year-old told Chelsea’s club website.
Morata put pen to paper with the London giants after undergoing a medical and he is now expected to link up with his new teammates, who were preparing to play Arsenal in a pre-season friendly in Beijing yesterday.
He could make his debut against Bayern Munich in Singapore on Tuesday.
Morata, who scored 20 goals in 43 appearances for Real last season on their way to the Champions League and Spanish title, also has nine goals in 20 appearances for Spain — including three at last year’s European Championship.
Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo said Morata can make a huge impact domestically as well as in the Champions League.
“We are delighted to complete Alvaro’s signing and welcome him to the club. We believe he can make a great impact for Chelsea and look forward to seeing him in action,” said Emenalo.
“Alvaro has proven class at the highest level and his quality will be a huge asset to Antonio and the squad.”
Earlier Friday, Chelsea coach Antonio Conte marvelled at the “crazy” transfer fees demanded for players, though he praised Morata as a young but experienced striker with a bright future.
“He’s a good striker. He’s a player with the right prospect for Chelsea. He’s very young and for sure he can improve a lot,” Conte told a press conference on the eve of the game against Arsenal.
Chelsea had long been linked to a move for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, but they signed Morata after the Belgian international joined Manchester United instead for a reported €85 million.
Asked whether the price paid for Morata was fair after he had previously warned about the spending power of Chinese clubs, Conte acknowledged that “for sure this transfer market is crazy”.
“I think if you want to buy a simple player, OK, a normal player, you have to start to think to spend €40-50 million, and I think this is incredible,” he said.
Chelsea travel to Singapore this week for games against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.