It is a tough one for team Chelsea as they are struggling to replace Diego Costa. “Careful what you wish for.” It’s the motto of accepted wisdom, most recently offered in the direction of “Wenger Out” Arsenal fans, the general gist of which is that some individuals are very hard to replace. For Chelsea fans this summer, their similar issue may well be beyond the discussion stage: Diego Costa’s time is up. The final chapter of Antonio Conte’s handling of his only remotely troublesome squad member was completed in just 13 text-messaged words: “Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan.”
Conte’s keenness for clarity is one of his finest characteristics, but this was an appropriately tense way to bring their working relationship to a close. After a season in which Chelsea’s nerves weren’t stretched too far by their relatively light workload, Costa still found opportunities to push his new manager’s buttons; the sense is that Conte really doesn’t need that drama again with another 10 games or so added to the 2017-18 equation.
The high school breakup over text message, though, might be something of an anticlimax to a 36-month association in which Costa has packed in more aggravation than most players could hope to in a decade. It has been three Netflixian seasons of cliff-hangers, and there doesn’t appear to be any mutual energy left for a fourth. Costa’s exit route remains unclear: Madrid, Milan or Jorge Mendes’ whim are the current options.
Once his departure is officially negotiated — Conte leaving a box of Costa’s DVDs, shoes and pot plant outside for him to collect, perhaps — Chelsea face the most expensive dilemma in football. The annual summer scramble for the precious few available goal scorers is a burgeoning industry all on its own. After all, nothing adds the zeroes on the end better than the latent promise of 30-plus goals a season and a buying club’s desperation for it.
In that spirit, Romelu Lukaku’s giant frame fits the bill for Chelsea: four and a half years Costa’s junior and still barrelling away on his upward curve since finding a home at Everton in 2013. With the inescapably huge fee comes a big name with an even bigger thirst to prove himself at the second time of asking at Stamford Bridge.
Filling Costa’s boots, though — as any new striker’s arrival will inevitably be framed — is more than just about goals. While Lukaku and Harry Kane respectively stormed to 25 and 29 Premier League goals last season, thanks to some emphatic, carefree finishing when the space opened up, Costa’s own haul of 20 was painstakingly carved out. Quite simply, nobody makes the role of centre-forward look like such hard work as he does.
