- Diego Costa is considering a return back to Stamford Bridge
- Costa has maintained communication with his teammates about his future with the club
- Atletico Madrid wants Costa to maintain fitness if he going to join the club
Out of favour Chelsea attacker Diego Costa is giving serious consideration to returning to the club and taking his punishment for going AWOL in a bid to sort out his future, The Telegraph reports.
Costa has remained in Brazil all summer after receiving a text message from Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte stating that he is not in his plans.
But having ignored all requests to return to Chelsea as he attempted to force a return to Atletico Madrid, friends close to the striker believes that his stance is softening and that he could call off his strike this month.
Diego Costa could call off strike and return to Stamford Bridge, believe team-mates
Friends at both Chelsea and Atletico have been in touch with Costa for weeks urging him to end his feud with the Blues and return to London.
He had offered no indication he was prepared to do so before the Spanish transfer window closed last Friday and is not thought to have officially informed Chelsea of his plans.
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But friends who have been in touch with Costa over the last 48 hours now think he could return to the club and is prepared to train with the development squad, alongside the likes of Jake Clarke-Salter and the brother of Eden Hazard, Kylian, who was signed last month.
It is not known if Costa has indicated exactly when he is thinking about making a dramatic return, but sources believe it could be sooner rather than later. Reports in Spain on Tuesday night even suggested he had boarded a flight to London although Chelsea sources said they were unaware of such plans.
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Chelsea know, however, that Costa has been in touch with several of his team-mates for weeks, but are unlikely to make too many plans for his possible comeback.
Chelsea have been fining Costa fortnightly while he has stayed away and he would no doubt face difficult talks with the club’s board and possibly even owner Roman Abramovich if he re-starts work at the club’s Cobham training ground.
Although he was included in their Premier League squad, it is highly unlikely Costa would be fit enough to make any sort of playing return for the Blues before November.
And Conte’s hard-line stance on the matter and Costa’s behaviour means there is a strong chance he could return to Chelsea and still never play for the club again before finally sealing a move to Atletico in January.
Costa was Chelsea's highest goal scorer for last season with 22 goals in all competition.
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ROSY CREST
Wednesday 6 September 2017