Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says that Diego Costa is available to play against Hull City tomorrow and that he is so convinced of the striker’s commitment to the club, he would put his “hands in the fire”.
Costa was left out of the squad for last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Leicester City and while the official explanation was a back complaint, he was believed to have been unsettled by an £80 million bid from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian and argued with Conte about his attitude.
“He’s available for the game against Hull City,” Conte said. “He hasn’t any pain in his back. I’m sure about his commitment, his behaviour, his will to fight with this team to try to win the title.
“I can put my hands in the fire. In Italy, it means you trust 100 per cent the situation.”
Conte said that he did not expect Costa to receive a hostile reception from Chelsea fans. “Every time Diego [has] played for Chelsea, he [has] always put all himself into it for this shirt, for this club,” he said. Asked if he would be disappointed if the striker was booed, Conte said: “I don’t think this situation can happen.”
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However, after Chelsea’s impressive victory against Leicester, in which Eden Hazard was deployed as a false No 9, Conte said that he could not guarantee that Costa would come straight back into the team.
“To make a decision at the moment is not simple,” he said. “I have four or five very good players who are strong in that position: Pedro, Hazard, Willian, Costa and also Ruben [Loftus-Cheek].
“It’s not easy because they are in good form and give me different options. If someone is left out, it’s not a punishment.”
Conte dismissed the idea that the club should hasten to offer Costa a new contract to prevent him having his head turned. “I think now it’s better to concentrate on the present,” he said.
Conte also said that he wants to keep Asmir Begovic, the goalkeeper, after he was the subject of a reported £10 million bid from Bournemouth.