Chelsea boss Antonio Conte urges Diego Costa to focus as speculation over big money move to China grows
Antonio Conte has told Diego Costa to keep his eyes on the title prize amid the potential distraction of a mega-money move to China.
Tianjin Quanjian are confident of wrapping up an extraordinary £75million deal for the Chelsea striker – a switch that is expected to see Costa become the world’s best-paid player on £620,000 per week after tax.
Conte refused to confirm or deny that the move was on, but was pointed in saying his players needed to maintain maximum concentration on the job in hand, with Chelsea locked in a two-way battle with Tottenham for the title.
Antonio Conte has urged Diego Costa to focus on the season as talk of a move to China grows
The warning might seem obvious, except the worry for Chelsea is that there could be a resurfacing of tension with Costa at precisely the wrong time, having already seen the striker clash with Conte in January, when Tianjin made their first approach for the player.
When asked directly about suggestions his top scorer had already agreed a pre-contract with the Chinese club, Conte said: ‘I don't know about this. Now it's very important for every single player and person who works for Chelsea to be focused on the present, because the present is very important for us.
‘Now it's more important than the future, to be focused and concentrated, to prepare these five games (four in the Premier League, as well as the FA Cup final) between now and the end. I'm not worried about this. I see my players every day and I see the right concentration and focus about them.’
