COSTA’S MY BANKER

Conte: Forget about seeking his fortune in China.. he’s saving up his goals to win us the Double

COMETH the hour, cometh the man – or so Antonio Conte is hoping.

Diego Costa has been without a goal in six games, stretching back to Chelsea’s 2-1 victory at West Ham on March 6. Since then he has been surly on the pitch, but subdued in front of goal – sparking fresh speculation that he is off to China when their transfer window reopens in June. Last week at Manchester United, Costa was back to being the snarling, confrontational, wind-up merchant who seemed apparently more interested in his running battle with Marcos Rojo than helping the Blues win the match. It has sparked calls for Costa to be dropped for today’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Tottenham. Asked about his star striker, however, a smile broke out across Conte’s face. “I think he is keeping the goals for the finale of the season,” said the Italian. “It is the right moment for him to score.” It sounded like hope, rather than expectation.

But it was a warning for Spurs that the £32million striker could yet answer his critics with the goals to fire his club to the Double.

Chelsea, who insist he was one of several players struggling with a stomach bug last weekend, do need him. Badly.

During the first half of the season Costa scored 15 goals as they took control of the title race and left the rest of the Premier League trailing in their wake.

Since January 22 there has been a marked downward turn in his fortunes. Costa has netted just three times for the Blues in the past three months.

Since March, a 13-point lead has been reduced to just four by relentless Spurs.

There has also been a run-in between Costa and a member of Conte’s backroom staff, and claims that Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian still have a £650,000-aweek offer waiting for him.

Conte (above) added: “You’re restarting about this? Diego to China?

“I repeat, the most important thing for us is to be focused. To continue to do what we are doing until now. To be focused on the present, to keep the concentration.

“We have to finish a good season for us and then we want to go on and do something extraordinary. We are only at the start of this job.”

Chelsea have lost just one of their last five FA Cup semi-finals and are looking to inflict Tottenham’s seventh defeat on the spin at this stage.

But with poor form, injuries, illness and a tough League game on Tuesday at home to Southampton, the pressure is on Conte to ensure a stumble does not become a full-blown choke.

“But the pressure is normal,” he went on. “The pressure is normal in our job.

“When you arrive at the end of the season you want to be in a good position to reach a good target, or a fantastic target.

“I prefer to have this pressure instead of fighting for sixth, seventh, eighth place and to have that pressure instead.”