Friday evening's news that Diego Costa was not travelling with the Chelsea squad to play Leicester City this weekend came right out-of-the-blue as the temperamental Spaniard had appeared to be enjoying life under Antonio Conte.
In fact, he was enjoying life under Conte, as he said as much in an interview with the Express less than two weeks ago:
Sometimes you have managers that have to be the boss, but this manager is a bit friendlier and there is closeness there.
It is really important to have that at your workplace for you to come in and feel happy. You need a good atmosphere and a bit of fun.
That is seemingly all out the window as the Dail Mail and the Telegraph both published reports that Diego Costa had fallen out with Antonio Conte over a row that kicked off due to Chelsea's medical staff not believing the Spanish striker's complaints about an injury.
In the time since those reports were first published, more information has come to light at it seems very much like Costa has had his head turned by a Chinese club offering him a deal that would make him the best-paid player in world football.
BREAKING: Sky Sources: Costa has not trained for three days after becoming unsettled by £30m-a-year offer from club in China #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) January 13, 2017
Chelsea's Diego Costa reportedly unsettled at club following £30million per yr offer from China.
— Jim White (@JimWhite) January 13, 2017
Diego Costa's head has been turned by interest from China, where he would become the highest paid player in the world
— Dean Jones (@DeanJonesBR) January 13, 2017
Remarkably, it seems as though Diego Costa is eager to abandon Chelsea's title race in order to join the growing number of players securing their financial security for life by playing in the Chinese Super League. It would also explain why he may have fallen out with the club's medical staff, as he would not want to play and risk injury which could kill the transfer.
However, Sky Sports have also reported that Roman Abramovic has absolutely no intent to sell. This is easy to believe as Abramovic is typically on the other side of this type of negotiation, but an unsettled Diego Costa is about as useful as an inflatable dartboard as we saw last season.
BREAKING: Sky Sources: #CFC owner Roman Abramovich unwilling to sell Costa who has two years left on his contract #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) January 13, 2017
It's the Dimitri Payet situation on a grander scale, but if Costa does indeed pack his bags and take off, leaving Chelsea without the Premier League's top scorer, then it is a statement that the Chinese Super League is not playing around.
Of course, nothing is finalised yet, but it's clear that the idea of being the world's best-paid player is very appealing to Costa and if he decides that is what he wants then he is leaving Chelsea in a very tricky situation as a replacement would need to be brought in.
Chelsea fans will no doubt be distraught at the prospect of this interest from the Chinese Super League possibly derailing their title challenge, but nothing is set in stone yet. We'll bring you more on this as it develops.
Graziano Pelle and Oscar is one thing, taking Diego Costa in the middle of a title-race is an entirely different signal of intent from the Chinese clubs.
