Ligue 1 side Lille are reportedly preparing a bid of €40m to prize Michy Batshuayi away from Chelsea before the transfer window closes next week.
Diego Costa has continued his bid to quit Chelsea and English football — by moving out of his house.
Antonio Conte kept his cards close to his chest and chose to praise his players for Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Tottenham after being quizzed on his plans for the remainder of the transfer window.
Atlético Madrid and Chelsea have reached an agreement for the transfer of Diego Costa, according to Radio Estadio, a programme on the Spanish station, Onda Cero.
Nemanja Matic believes Manchester United are the biggest club he has played for after making the £40million move from Chelsea this summer.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says summer signing Tiémoué Bakayoko could feature against Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday.
Exiled striker Diego Costa has repeated his wish to return to Atletico Madrid and believes his stand-off with Chelsea will come to an end when he travels to Spain.
Speaking from his native Lagarto earlier this week, Costa criticised Chelsea and head coach Antonio Conte.
Costa claims he was told he was not wanted by a text message sent by Conte during the off-season.
But the Blues insist it was decided in January, with the striker and his agent, Jorge Mendes, that Costa could leave this summer.
As a consequence, Diego has been ordered by Chelsea to return to London, get himself match fit and make himself available for selection, as he still has two years remaining on his contract.
Costa met with Milton Dantas, the president of the Sergipe Football Association, and afterwards reiterated his desire to return to Atletico. Sergipe is the region of Brazil where Diego is from.
In a statement released by Federacao Sergipana de Futebol and published by O Globo, Costa said: “My destiny is already set.
“I must return to Atletico Madrid next season.
“There happens to be an impasse as Chelsea do not want to release me.
“But I believe this situation will be resolved upon my return to Spain.”
He did not say when he would be returning to Spain, but his preferred move is complicated by Atletico’s transfer embargo, which forbids them from registering new players until January.
The statement from the Sergipe FA is the first sign that Costa is prepared to use official channels to negotiate his departure from Stamford Bridge.
Press Association Sport understands Costa has not yet contacted FIFA, football’s world governing body, over his concerns.
And FIFPro, the global players’ union, is yet to by contacted by Costa.
But FIFPro has general concerns about the trade of players through transfers.
A FIFPro statement said: “We strongly believe that players at every level of the football pyramid should have the same right as workers in other industries to follow the career path of their choice.
“A footballer’s career should not be tied to a transfer market which has spiraled out of control.
“FIFPro is not in a position to comment on the specifics of the situation of either Diego Costa.
“However, we are aware of repeated instances of the financial interests of clubs interfering with the short career of players.
“Indeed, FIFPro’s recent global survey of professional players found that 29 per cent of those traded for a transfer fee to their current club were unhappy with the move.”
Andrea Belotti is still being targetted and poised to replace the self-exiled striker that has been ordered back to England from his native Brazil.
And Starsport can reveal the champions have not given up on landing Torino ace Belotti.
The Blues have already bought Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for £70m.
But boss Antonio Conte remains unconvinced by Michy Batshuayi
And with Costa set to stay away with his family in Brazil, Conte feels the club need to boost their strikeforce.
Belotti, 23, banged in 26 goals in 35 Serie A games last season and the champions have been constantly linked with the Italy international all summer.
He has earned comparisons to Chelsea legend Gianluca Vialli for his athleticism and powerful style of play, but Torino have been holding out for £80m for the prized asset.
And with Chelsea starting the season so poorly – losing 3-2 at home to Burnley on Saturday a deal could still be struck.
Conte wants a number of reinforcements in this window, with Southampton centre back Virgil van Dijk, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Drinkwater of Leicester key targets.
Chelsea are also keen on Paris St-Germain right-back Serge Aurier, who is available for £27m, but Tottenham have now joined Manchester United in the hunt.
Despite demanding Costa, who has insisted he only wants to play for Atletico Madrid, returns to training Chelsea are prepared for a stalemate with the Spain striker.
Carlos Tevez spent three months away in Argentina on unauthorised leave from Manchester City back in 2011 and the club continued to fine him for his absence.
Chelsea are understood to plan the same tactic with Costa, fining him his wages for two weeks – £280,000 – every fortnight.
Meanwhile, Eden Hazard returned to full training yesterday having missed most of pre-season with a broken ankle.
He was joined by new midfield signing Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is back after undergoing minor knee surgery in the summer.
But both players are not expected to be fit enough to feature at Tottenham on Sunday
Atletico Madrid have drawn up a detailed physical plan to get Diego Costa into peak fitness, in the event they finally sign him from Chelsea.
The 28-year-old striker’s future remains up in the air as he is exiled from the English champions’ squad with a legal process between they player’s camp and club having been initiated with former club, Atletico monitoring closely.
But Atletico remain hopeful of signing him before the end of the window and are now willing to go to just over £40m to secure the transfer Costa himself so desperately wants.
Per The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Costa “desperately wants” to return to his former club having become an exile at Stamford Bridge and Atleti have already detailed a fitness plan for him assuming he makes the move.
Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol previously reported Los Rojiblancos were not willing to offer anywhere near Chelsea’s £50 million asking price for the 28-year-old
The Spanish international would not actually to be able to play for the Liga club until January due to their ban on registering players, so they have prepared a detailed fitness regime to get him back to optimum condition until then, under their highly-respected physical trainer Oscar ‘El Profe’ Ortega.
Part of it would see Costa do intensive individual sessions with Ortega, who has been responsible for Atletico ‘s famed fitness under manager Diego Simeone