Images of Diego Costa in first team training, along with shots of him hugging fitness coach Julio Tous, have given Chelsea fans hope that a catastrophe has been avoided – for now.
With luck, the striker has been persuaded to stay until the summer, at least. Whatever happens, this last week has been a reminder that the Brazilian is occasionally a loose cannon off the pitch as well as on it. Whatever your opinion on Costa’s potential move to China, the fact is that something like that is always on the cards with the enigmatic forward.
What this means is that the club must have a top quality striker ready to bring in at short notice should the day arrive that Costa actually goes. At the moment Romelu Lukaku seems to be front runner simply by virtue of being the name which has been repeated in connection with us most often over the years.
The simple fact is that it will be almost impossible to sign a player equal to Costa without spending an enormous amount of money. The strikers who are as good as him – there aren’t many – are generally already at top clubs, who wouldn’t sell even if we were willing to pay what they ask – which we probably wouldn’t anyway.
Lukaku certainly would not be a sufficient replacement. He has the physical gifts to be an equally imposing front man, but has yet to show the personality or mentality. The amount of money it would cost to take a second chance on him is simply too much.
Morata too seems like an expensive trap. While he’s got great qualities he’s not the full package physically.
Thomas Muller? Getting older and slowing down, could you really image him leading the line in this team? And are you willing to pay £75m to see that? Didn’t think so.
In fact, the more you think about it, the harder it is to think of a single realistic deal we could make for a player anywhere near Costa’s quality at the moment. This is precisely why it’s so important we keep him until the end of the season, but also why he has so much power over the club at the moment.
Whoever the board decide to go for, they must ensure it’s a deal that is done sooner rather than later, so that the player can begin finding his feet in the Premier League before the inevitable day comes when Costa finally goes. In the mean time, enjoy Diego while he lasts – he won’t be here forever.
