Transfer Centre

Antonio Conte: 'Diego Costa speculation is not important'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 05 May 2017

Antonio Conte calls on Diego Costa to remain "focused and concentrated" on Chelsea's bid for a league and cup double, amid ongoing talk that he could be on his way out.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has insisted that he is unaware of Diego Costa signing a pre-contract agreement with Tianjin Quanjian, and is adamant that the ongoing speculation will not affect the striker's mindset.

Reports this week suggested that the Spain international has agreed a whopping £620,000-a-week deal to join the Chinese Super League club in June, having been the subject of a failed bid in January when the Blues refused to cash in.

Costa looks increasingly likely to be allowed to leave this time around, however, with Chelsea potentially using the estimated £76m transfer cash to bring back former player Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

Probed about the 28-year-old's future, Conte remained coy and stressed that all focus from each and every member of his playing squad is on winning a Premier League and FA Cup double.

"I don't know about this [agreement]," he told reporters. "I think now it is very important for every single player and every single person who works for Chelsea to be focused on the present.

"Now is more important than the future. To be focused and concentrated, to prepare in the right way for these five games. But I am not worried about this because I see my players every day. We started the season with a lot of problems, but there are two big targets for us."

Costa has netted 19 times in 32 Premier League appearances this season - the third-highest tally in the division - compared to 12 in 28 last time around.