Chelsea news LIVE: Blues eye Griezmann as Costa moves to Madrid
CHELSEA NEWS LIVE UPDATES: Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid latest and more...
Mendy's Chelsea snub
18.55: Benjamin Mendy had no interest in joining Chelsea and only had eyes for Manchester City, accoridng to Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev.
Vasilyev told French newspaper L’Equipe: “At first, I said, ‘No, you're staying.
“He replied, ‘But Vadim, I really want to go to City with Guardiola.’
“Several times he said to me, ‘If it was Chelsea, I would stay, but this is Guardiola, I want to go there.’
"He was frank with me. So when City put that price, when it became the most expensive defender in the world, I had no more arguments to oppose it.”
Morata's Real warning
17.10: Alvaro Morata reportedly warned Real Madrid president Florentino Perez he would regret selling him to Chelsea.
Morata joined the Blues this summer for a club-record fee of £60million after failing out of favour at Real Madrid.
Since moving to south-west London he has been an immediate success, scoring three goals and providing two assists in four appearances.
And according to Spanish outlet Don Balon, Morata told Real president Florentino Perez he would rue selling him as he departed the club on bad terms.
Morata’s plea to fans
16:03: Alvaro Morata has asked Chelsea fans to tone down their anti-semtic chanting after helping his Antonio Conte’s side to a 2-1 win over Leicester.
Morata has also been well received by Chelsea fans, although the Spaniard was not completely appreciative of a chant sung involving him.
A section of support have been heard singing: “He came from Real Madrid he f***ing hates the y***,” referencing Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham and their traditional Jewish fanbase.
After the game Chelsea, whose owner Roman Abramovich is Jewish, issued a strongly-worded statement.
And Morata tweeted: “Since I arrived, I have been able to feel your support every single day, you are amazing and I'd like to ask you to please respect everyone!”
Vidal contract offer
14:33: Bayern Munich have offered Arturo Vidal a new contract to stave off interest from Chelsea and AC Milan, according to repots.
Chelsea were loosely linked with a move for Vidal in the summer as manager Antoni Conte sought midfield recruits.
Yet Italian website calciomercato claim Bayern are still wary of Chelsea’s interest.
According to the report, Bayern have tabled a new contact for the Chile international and are hopeful it will be wrapped up soon.
Vidal’s current deal expires in 2019 and Bayern are aware he could leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.
Costa finally close to Atletico deal
13:48: Atletico Madrid have sent a delegation to London in a bid to end the impasse over Diego Costa.
The club officials will meet Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia hoping to finalise the transfer of the Spain striker.
Atletico, who cannot sign players until January because of a FIFA transfer embargo, are willing to raise their offer to around £32m (€35m) to seal the deal.
Costa has already agreed a salary of £175,000-a-week with the La Liga club, for whom he played from 2010 to 2014.
And sources close to the player, who has been AWOL in his homeland Brazil since being told he is not wanted at Stamford Bridge, say he hopes it will all be agreed within days.
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Chelsea star Pedro (left) was pleased with the win over Leicester
Bakayoko can improve
11:24: Antonio Conte has challenged Tiemoue Bakayoko to improve his ability on the ball.
Bakayoko played in the win over Leicester yesterday and his defensive work impressed Conte.
"I think Baka is improving his physical condition and also starting to understand and adapt himself our style of football,” Conte said.
“For sure he has to improve with the ball, without the ball he is very strong, in this game he helped us a lot and after the Leicester goal.
"He is a young player and a good signing for us. He has a lot of space to improve. Like N'Golo, he has to improve with the ball.”
Real Madrid mistake
10:25: Zinedine Zidane is not happy wth Real Madrid’s strike force and wants a new forward - in the mould of Alvaro Morata.
Real sold Morata to Chelsea for £60m this summer.
But Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension and Karim Benzema’s injury means they struggled in a 1-1 draw with Levante yesterday.
Don Balon claims Zidane held showdown talks with president Florentino Perez yesterday and demanded a new striker.
His ideal target would be similar to Morata, although there is no suggestion the Bernabeu club would try and re-sign the Spain star.
Pedro delighted
09:23: Chelsea star Pedro is delighted with the way the team is progressing.
Speaking after the Leicester win, he said: “It’s one more win for us, a very important three points and we are continuing in the right way,’ said the Spaniard. ‘The team are playing very well.
“Every game in the Premier League is difficult, Leicester are very good on the counter attack and in transitions, with players like Vardy and Mahrez, so it was very important for us to win.
“They were two very good goals, Morata scored the first from a good Azpi cross, and N’Golo’s was a nice shot from outside the box. We are moving up the table which is very good for us.”
Transfer latest
09:07: Chelsea and Barcelona are interested in signing Atakan Akkaynak.
Express Sport understands the two European giants are monitoring Bayer Leverkusen’s gem.
Akkaynak, 18, holds dual Turkish and German nationality.
Chelsea will try and move for the player in January when the transfer window opens.
Conte on Morata
08:56: More on Antonio Conte’s reaction to the win over Leicester.
Discussing Alvaro Morata, who scored the opener at the King Power, Conte said: "It is a good day for the team and a good day for Alvaro.
"It is always important for the striker to score.
"But for me it is very important to see that he is improving and he is more involved in our idea of football and for me that is the most important thing.
"Then if he scores, I am very happy and I am pleased for the player."
Costa moves to Madrid
08:43: Diego Costa has moved his family to Madrid in anticipation of his transfer to Atletico in January.
Costa is currently AWOL in Brazil and is refusing to return to Chelsea.
The Spain international is on strike after failing to secure a move to Atletico in the summer.
Chelsea continue to fine him each week that he doesn’t return to west London.
But it appears he has no plans to head back to the capital after shifting his family back to Spain.
The Sun on Sunday claim his family are now in Madrid after leaving his base in Oxshott, Surrey.
Diego Costa poses for photos after receiving a Flamengo shirt
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Conte wanted more goals
08:30: Antonio Conte says Chelsea should have scored more goals in their 2-1 win over Leicester.
"We must be delighted because we had a good performance,” Conte said.
“We played very well, we were in total control and could have scored more goals.
"After the penalty it changed the situation. They tried to push but despite this we had chances to improve the score.
“It is a good result and a good performance.”
Griezmann latest
08:15: Manchester United are plotting a rival bid to sign Chelsea target Antoine Griezmann next summer.
Chelsea want to sign Griezmann and have earmarked the Atletico Madrid star as their top priority for 2018.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is keen to avoid the mess the club found themselves in this summer when they failed to land their top targets early.
But the Daily Star Sunday claim United have ring fenced £100m for the France international and intend to give him their iconic No 7 shirt.
Griezmann refused to leave Atletico last summer but will likely move on at the end of the season.
