Chelsea are prepared to let Nemanja Matic move to Manchester United but José Mourinho’s club will have to pay what is being dubbed a “Lukaku tax” for his signature.
Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, is prepared to let the Serb join their Premier League rivals in recognition of the contribution he has made during his two spells at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich infuriated Mourinho when he was Chelsea manager by allowing Petr Cech to join Arsenal for a bargain £10 million fee before the start of last season, This time, though, there will be no such largesse with Matic’s move given that Chelsea’s feelings towards United are said to be strained after they lost out in the contest to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton.
Antonio Conte, the Chelsea head coach, believed his club were in pole position to sign the Belgium striker until United gazumped them with a deal that could be worth up to £90 million. United have already made an offer of around £35 million for Matic and been rebuffed, but Chelsea’s asking price will now reflect what is being referred to inside the club as a “Lukaku tax” as well the fact there has been interest in the midfielder from Juventus.
Conte admitted yesterday that he decided as far back as January that Diego Costa would not have a future at Chelsea. The Spain international is angling for a move back to Atletico Madrid after Conte made it clear that Costa is not part of his plans despite the 28-year-old being Chelsea’s top scorer with 20 goals last season.
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Costa effectively burned his bridges in January when he pushed for a move to the Chinese Super League and after the end of the season was informed by a text message from Conte that his services would no longer be required. Costa had asked for a move away from Chelsea on three occasions last season.
The Italian told a news conference in Beijing ahead of today’s friendly against Arsenal in the Bird’s Nest Stadium: “I don’t like to talk about players who are not here. In January, the Costa situation was made very clear. For the club, for him and his agent, and for me, the situation is closed.”
Conte’s blunt text came after he had messaged all the players to thank them for their efforts over the season and to remind them to do a little fitness work over the holiday to keep in shape.
Costa responded with two text messages of emojis, which received no reply, and then phoned Conte, who missed the call. When Costa sent him a third text, Conte responded with the now infamous message asking if no one had told the striker that he was not part of his future plans.
Atletico are willing to pay around £26 million for Costa before loaning him to AC Milan until January. The loan is a way of circumventing a ban on the Spanish club registering new players until the start of next year.
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Chelsea have completed the signing of Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morata as Costa’s replacement for a club-record fee which starts at £58 million and could rise to as much as £70 million.
Morata, 24, signed a five-year deal and will join the squad on the next leg of their tour in Singapore next week.