DIEGO COSTA IN CHELSEA CAREER DOGFIGHT

The Blues striker could be pushed out of the door this
summer if his season continues to implode

Diego Costa's early-season heroics are becoming a
distant memory as he goes on his worst-ever run of
goalscoring form in a blue shirt, with Chelsea already
looking for other striking options in the summer.
Chelsea are expected to be one of the clubs to battle
to sign the Premier League's leading goalscorer,
Romelu Lukaku, from Everton in the summer. Lukaku's
form of five goals in his last five games dwarfs
Costa's none in five and, wherever he goes, he will be
expecting to becoming his new club's leading striker
as he refuses contract renewal talks on Merseyside.
Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata is another Chelsea target
ahead of the summer transfer window. Serie A and
Torino's top goalscorer Andrea Belotti is also on the
list which contains a host of younger names including
Kasper Dolberg of Ajax and Moussa Dembele of Celtic.
Chelsea risk PL collapse after Man Utd shocker
Meanwhile, Costa's last six games of the Premier
League season and one or two in the FA Cup are not
only pivotal for his team's success but his own
future. A lack of goals is really starting to hurt his
team's chances with Jose Mourinho's Manchester
United identifying that if you stop Eden Hazard, you
can stop Chelsea with Costa so badly out of form.
The Chelsea striker seemed preoccupied in his battle
with Marcos Rojo but he was distracted from his
duties on the pitch, racking up only one shot that
went wildly off target, while also winning the fewest
duels of any player on either side at 21.7 per cent.
These stats have been replicated again and again
since his triple-your-money offer from Tianjin
Quanjian in early January - with assists and key
passes drying up alongside the goals.
His poor form has coincided with awards season and
he has missed out on a PFA Player of the Year
nomination, despite being the best player in England
up until January.
Mourinho's masterclass on how to stop PL leaders
Antonio Conte has counted upon Costa as his main
man throughout the season, but cries to see him
dropped for Michy Batshuayi are getting stronger and
stronger.
However, Batshuayi has only played 113 minutes in the
league for Chelsea since his £33 million move from
Marseille and he doesn't appear to be trusted by his
manager. It looks as though Conte will stick with
Costa as the pressure ramps up on his side and the
Spain international will have to repay any faith shown
in him in the final month of the season.