Diego Costa
Antonio Conte and Diego Costa have drawn a line under last week’s fitness row at Chelsea’s training ground.
And Costa will now be given the opportunity to win his place back in the starting XI for the clash against Hull City on Saturday.
The Spain striker has been introduced back into senior training at the club’s Cobham HQ as he looks to prove himself ahead of the weekend’s Premier League clash.
The striker had been training away from the rest of the first-team squad following a row with manager Conte over his fitness.
Costa has complained of a lower back problem, but certain figures at the club fear his head has been turned by a money-spinning offer from China.
And it has since emerged that Costa’s agent, Jorge Mendes, travelled to China to hold talks over a move to big-spending Tianjin Quanjian.
Shu Yuhui, the club’s owner, has revealed Mendes made a special visit to China to discuss a move for the 28-year-old, whose current contract expires in 2019.
‘I made an appointment with (Jorge) Mendes and he came to my hometown to visit me,’ he told Tianjin Sports Channel.
Tianjin were in the market for a top European striker until new rules implemented by the Chinese FA reduced the number of foreign players allowed to play at any given time from four to three.
‘At that time, we were interested in signing Costa,’ Yuhui added.
‘PSG told us (Edinson) Cavani would only be allowed to leave in June, even though the player himself was willing to join us. The same can be said for Costa because Chelsea would only let him leave in June.’
