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Chelsea should still be in the market for another striker

As each day passes, the impasse between Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Diego Costa grows.
As each day passes, the impasse between Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Diego Costa grows.

We’ve all been there. After a summer by the pool, sunning ourselves and working off the stresses of the past year, it’s difficult to go back to work. The thought of a return to the daily grind is enough to prompt a quick Expedia search, just to see how much more it would cost to stay an extra night or two. For Diego Costa this summer, that price is £150,000 a week.

That’s how much Chelsea are reportedly fining the Spanish International striker as he continues to disobey club orders to return to training. Costa, of course, is intent on forcing through a move to Atletico Madrid, reportedly flying to the Spanish capital this week in order to push the proposed deal along.

“My destination has already been decided,” he said in a statement earlier this week. “I must return to Atletico Madrid. It turns out that there is the impasse that Chelsea do not want to release me. But I believe that this situation will be resolved now on my return to Spain.”

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The situation is most likely irretrievable for Chelsea, with Costa almost certain to get his way, whether it be this transfer window or the next when Atletico Madrid can register players again following their transfer embargo. It will be another victory for player power, but Antonio Conte mustn’t get caught up in the politics of it all. He must put his mind to finding a way to keep Chelsea challenging.

The signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid went some way to allaying fears over the Blues’ lack of cutting edge ahead of the new season, with the Spanish international a proven goalscorer at the top level. But he isn’t a direct replacement for Costa. Instead, Morata, as he showed at Real Madrid, thrives when played alongside another attacker.

It could be that Conte intends on turning Morata into the sort of striker who can play as a lone focal point, but in such a shift there is a substantial level of risk attached. Is Michy Batshuayi ready to fulfil such an important role? Has Conte seen enough from the young Belgian striker to suggest he can carry Chelsea to a successful title defence?

If not, he must enter the transfer market once more for another striker. Chelsea’s entire system relies on having an attacker who can take the few chances they create. Morata might turn out to be that player for them, but that might not materialise without another top calibre forward to play alongside him.


Of course, finding that forward this late in the window will be difficult. Chelsea have already spent over £120 million this summer, so it’s possible that Roman Abramovich has already pulled tight on the purse strings. This could be why Conte, even at this early stage of the new season, looks drained. He knows just far short his team will be of the benchmark and with Costa set on leaving there’s little he can do to address this.

The defending Premier League champions will have to be smart. Fernando Llorente might not be a striker of the very top level, but if he helps get the best out of Morata it could be worth making a move for the Swansea City striker, who has previously been linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge.

Costa has indeed left Chelsea in an extremely difficult position. He would have made a perfect partner for Morata up front, giving the Blues the most dangerous, irrepressible attacking line in the Premier League. But with his exit imminent, Conte must find a way to shuffle his side. It might require another striker for him to come up with a full house for a second straight season.