Chelsea are prioritising the signing of Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morata having granted Diego Costa an extended leave of absence while negotiations continue with Atlético Madrid aimed at securing his permanent departure.
Costa, who remains on holiday in Brazil, will not be included in Chelsea’s pre‑season tour of east Asia and was absent as the Premier League title winners reported back to work on Monday morning, 24 hours after the manager, Antonio Conte.
It was made clear to Costa by Conte last month that he is not in the Italian’s plans for the new campaign, with the forward having since indicated he will only countenance re-signing for Atlético, despite the fact he will not be able to play until January courtesy of the Spanish club’s transfer ban.
Atlético’s initial offer, worth around £26m, falls well short of Chelsea’s valuation but talks are continuing aimed at striking a compromise. In the meantime, and with no chance of a change of heart from either party, the club and Costa’s representatives have agreed the 28‑year‑old will be granted extra time off while the deal is concluded to avoid his presence becoming a distraction.
Chelsea’s first-team squad fly to Beijing for a three-game tour next Monday, with the club hopeful a deal can be agreed with Real for Morata by then. The Spain international came close to joining Manchester United this summer only for José Mourinho to end up hijacking Chelsea’s interest in Romelu Lukaku at the end of last week.
However, Conte has long been an admirer of Morata, whom he signed for Juventus just before taking the Italy job in 2014, and he has asked the board to pursue a £70m signing of the 24-year-old striker. Morata almost moved to Chelsea last summer, only to return to Madrid, his hometown club, when they activated a buy-back clause and secured him for £23m.
Tiémoué Bakayoko expects to complete a full medical at Chelsea this week before his £35m move from Monaco, but will most likely miss the start of the Premier League season as the midfielder continues his rehabilitation from keyhole knee surgery undertaken at the end of the French domestic campaign.
Bakayoko had been playing in pain since February, with Monaco waiting until they had secured the Ligue 1 title before sending the player to undergo a clean-up operation on the joint. Bakayoko was still not able to complete a full medical when he first reported to Cobham once a fee with Monaco had been agreed. Now, a few weeks on, he will be able to undertake the relevant tests and finalise his move.
Chelsea’s medical staff have ascertained there will be no need for further surgery but anticipate his rehab continuing for a further six weeks – he could continue that with the team in east Asia – before he is in contention for first-team selection. Given that will minimise his participation over pre-season, however, it is extremely unlikely he would be available for the Community Shield against Arsenal and the opening league fixtures against Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur.
Indeed, he may not be risked until after the international window at the beginning of September.
Monaco have not received any bids from rival clubs for Bakayoko, with the player apparently intent upon pursuing his career at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to become the recently appointed Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer’s first signing for the club on a season-long loan.
The England Under-21 international midfielder will become the latest graduate from Chelsea’s academy to secure a temporary switch to a rival Premier League side, following Tammy Abraham’s move to Swansea City and Huddersfield Town’s capture of Kasey Palmer. Loftus-Cheek failed to start a top-flight game for Conte’s champions last season, with the manager insistent he would benefit from training and being around the first-team squad at Cobham, but was made available for loan this summer as he seeks more regular senior involvement.
Palace have taken players from Chelsea in each of the past two seasons, albeit with little success given the lack of impact made by Patrick Bamford and Loïc Rémy. The former’s arrangement was cancelled by the player mid-season, with Bamford frustrated at a lack of opportunities after nine scoreless games. Rémy’s impact was horribly nullified by injury and he failed to score in eight appearances in all competitions. The France striker, who has entered the final year of his contract, is expected to depart Chelsea this summer.
Newcastle, Brighton and Southampton had inquired after Loftus-Cheek, 21, but the player is understood to have favoured a switch across the capital with Palace’s recruitment staff having made their interest known. Newly promoted Brighton are expected to sign Izzy Brown in a similar arrangement instead and Nathaniel Chalobah, another whose contract expires in 2018, is interesting Watford. Another young Chelsea player, the defender Ola Aina is expected to join the Championship side Hull City on loan.
Palace could also secure the Barcelona reserve goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen, who worked under De Boer at Ajax. The 28-year-old, who moved to the Camp Nou for around £11m last summer but started only one La Liga game, would most likely join initially on loan with a view to a permanent deal. His arrival could prompt the France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s return to Marseille on a three-year contract after a frustrating season at Selhurst Park.