Revealed: Diego Costa the most productive Prem striker - and Lukaku IS a flat-track bully

DIEGO COSTA won more points than the top goalscorer of any other Premier League club last season, research by the Express has shown.

EXPRESS

Chelsea confirmed last month that they had agreed a fee, believed to be £57million, to sell Costa back to his former club Atletico Madrid.

The Spaniard was told via text message in the summer that he was no longer in Antonio Conte's plans. This came after the Italian tactician was unhappy with Costa's attitude last January, when his head was turned by a lucrative contract offer from China.

The Chelsea boss proceeded to drop his talisman before reintegrating him as he scored 20 league goals to deliver the Premier League title to Stamford Bridge.

But research by the Express has discovered that Chelsea will be losing the most influential striker of last season, with his goals earning Chelsea 15 points on their league surge.

The methodology involved identifying the top goal scorer from each Premier League club, taking away their goals, and seeing how that would affect the results of the matches.

Diego Costa GETTY

Diego Costa fired Chelsea to the Premier League title last season

Notably, Romelu Lukaku's 25 goals for Everton last season only reaped six points, making him the least productive striker when converting goals to points.

The Belgian, who has notched seven in seven for new club Manchester United, is often criticised for being a flat-track bully, which this research does not debunk.

Golden Boot winner Harry Kane was joint-second, winning 13 points for Spurs who narrowly missed out on a first Premier League title.

Over the Victoria Line, Alexis Sanchez matched Kane's point tally with 25 goals, as did Sergio Aguero, Fernando Llorente and Jamie Vardy.

Romelu LukakuGETTY

Romelu Lukaku was a flat-track bully for Everton

Surprisingly, Nathan Redmond proved the most efficient poacher - each of his seven goals for Southampton worth 1.29 points on average.

Swansea's survival under Paul Clement relied heavily upon stylish striker Fernando Llorente, whose goals earned Swansea 32 per centof their points tally - the largest proportion of any striker on the list.

Chelsea's new signing Alvaro Morata has currently earned Chelsea two points with his six league goals this season, but is on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Lukaku leads the Golden Boot race as it stands, with his seven goals earning the Red Devils three points.

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