The massive caveat for all this is that it’s (unfortunately) from The Sun carrying the byline of someone called Tony Little. Presumably it’s not the same Tony Little who used to sell fitness equipment in infomercials rather enthusiastically.
And of course, it’s an EXCLUSIVE. That’s how you know it’s good information all the time, 12 per cent of the time.
In any case, The Sun claims that Chelsea and Costa have agreed “in principle” on a new five-year deal. Whether that means he’s actually going to sign something, we’ll just have to wait and see. When might he sign? Who knows. But there’s an agreement! In principle.
The new contract would apparently make Costa the highest paid player at Chelsea at £220,000 per week (plus bonuses), and would no doubt put an end to the constant rumors about Spain or China. For at least a few months. Maybe.
EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea striker offered massive £57m contract to stay at Stamford Bridge https://t.co/458e6FbR76 pic.twitter.com/azmGpR0yhw
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) February 14, 2017
On the plus side, this matches rumors earlier this season about Costa (and Courtois) being ready and willing to negotiate new deals. On the silly side, just a few weeks ago all the tabloids were convinced that Costa was about to leave for China and many of us, yours truly included, had made peace with Costa leaving in the summer regardless.
How much all this is worth I suppose depends on how far you’re willing to trust a source like The Sun. Chances are that answer is “not very far” or “how far is the waste bin” or perhaps something even more colorful than that. But here it is anyway. The details do not sound outrageous — we gave Cahill a four-year deal at 29 (Costa’s a year younger at this point) and £220k is barely more than the current highest wages (£200k+ for Fàbregas and/or Hazard, depending on who you believe).
Maybe somebody more trustworthy will come along with a similar story at some point soon.