Chelsea striker Diego Costa has all-but committed his future to the club by insisting that he has no desire to leave Stamford Bridge.
It comes at a crucial time for the club, as The Mirror report that Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian had been plotting a sensational £80m move for the in-form forward.
With 14 Premier League goals to his name already this season, Costa has been an integral part of Chelsea’s current 13-game winning streak which has ensured that they’ve emerged as the favourites for the title.
Having seemingly struck up an excellent relationship with Antonio Conte, things are looking positive in west London currently, and Costa has reiterated that in his latest comments.
“Yes, yes. I was about to leave,” he is quoted as saying.
“I was about to… but, well, I’m happy here as well and that’s that.
“I had the possibility to go to Atletico, because of a few things — the family, the life I have there… but not because of Chelsea, because, here, there’s a lot of love with the supporters, with the people, so I’m very happy. I’m very content.”
Prior to Costa’s insistence that he would be going nowhere, there would have been a few anxious faces at Chelsea given that the club have only recently sold Oscar to Shanghai SIPG in a deal worth £60m, as per The Mirror.
Clubs in China have big money to spend and are seemingly making a point of trying to attract all of Europe’s top stars across to them, and Costa appeared to be one of the most marquee targets yet.
However, Chelsea can rest easy as the Spaniard sounds settled in London again and as he spearheads Conte’s charge, all concerned will be focused on ensuring that their run goes on and they look just as strong in the second half of the campaign as they have done since that last loss to Arsenal in September.