Chelsea reiterate order for Costa to return to training — reports

A short while after giving a wild interview in which he portrayed his transfer situation as Shakespearean, Diego Costa has been ordered to return to training once again.

As Costa confirmed in said interview, Chelsea granted him an extra week of vacation, but then expected him to return to Cobham. But since that would’ve involved training with the reserves, Costa decided to stay in Brazil and thus he’s been getting fined his weekly wages ever since.

Now Chelsea have ordered him to return for a second time, in part perhaps to also disprove any notions of discrimination and constructive dismissal like Costa’s lawyer tried to insinuate with his threats a couple weeks ago. As it stands, Costa’s not fulfilling the terms of his contract.

In line with stories about Chelsea growing concerned about Costa’s fitness and thus his transfer fee, Chelsea probably also want to insure that he stays in decent shape while a transfer to Atlético Madrid is worked out. That might be a while still as Costa’s old team have not offered more than £26 million, while Chelsea want more than £40 million.

In all likelihood, Costa won’t return to training anytime soon, if ever. Despite the boost he could provide on the pitch, too much has happened now for there to be any hope of reconciliation of any type.