Gray and Keys: Mourinho must solve Costa problem

Sport360 staff 08:46 05/12/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Falling short: Diego Costa.

    The big talking point of recent weeks for Chelsea fans has undoubtedly been the form of Spain striker Diego Costa, with the misfiring forward’s woes representative of the issues facing the team as a whole.

    Costa, with just three goals to his name this season, has been attracting headlines for the wrong reason as the Blues themselves struggle to kickstart their faltering campaign. Left out last week as Chelsea drew with Tottenham, there are question marks over his future in London.

    BeIn Sports’ duo Andy Gray and Richard Keys take a look at the current situation at Stamford Bridge regarding Costa, with coach Mourinho appearing to have lost faith in his striking star.

    Andy Gray: Diego Costa is an angry, frustrated, unhappy young man at the moment and it shows, but he is only mirroring what the rest of the team are like. They are all struggling for answers.

    One or two are beginning to find a bit of form, but he is still a way off. I think the spat he had with Mourinho in the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, which everyone saw, was the moment Jose decided he needed to show everyone who is the boss at Chelsea and I think that’s why he left him out for the Spurs game.

    He will bring him back when he thinks the player is ready but Costa, who has only scored three goals this season, needs to raise his game. I get the impression that he is not happy at Chelsea and wants to go back to Spain, so I wouldn’t be surprised if come the January transfer window we see some movement at the club on the striker front.

    If Costa isn’t going to step up to the levels he was at last season then Mourinho will find someone else because neither Radamel Falcao or Loic Remy are good enough. If there is a viable option I think Chelsea will get rid of Costa and that might be what the player has been angling for.

    There is the option, of course, that Mourinho might decide to get shot of Falcao or Remy, bring in someone who is scoring goals and keep Costa as back up but would the Spaniard be happy to play second fiddle to another striker? I think not.

    I don’t expect Costa to start against Bournemouth on Saturday, even though you would think he might get a few goals in this game.

    Mourinho would have been pleased by the way his team played against Spurs last week without the striker. There were definitely shoots of recovery there so he will probably stick with what he had in that game.

    Chelsea are a much better side than Bournemouth, who it has to be said did well against Everton last week, and should win this reasonably easily. 2-0.

    Richard Keys: It was from a very good friend of mine on the island of Ibiza earlier in the year that I got information that Costa had been there partying for two days after an early season fixture.

    When I posted that information on Twitter I got a lot of Chelsea fans saying ‘who cares? So what, he is only relaxing and enjoying himself’, but my point was, and remains, that this is a player who for two years hasn’t really been fit. He’s a party boy and it is that, more than anything else, that I am sure annoys Mourinho.

    He made a fantastic impact when he first came into the Premier League – he blew people away but he has crossed the line too often for me. He is more interested in fighting personal battles these days than he is for the team and maybe that’s because he can’t contribute anymore, maybe he is frustrated by that.

    Whatever, I don’t think he will be at Chelsea for much longer. He hit the headlines again this week when he was pictured leaving a London nightclub in the early hours after the club’s Christmas party. Why is he getting himself in the papers if it’s not to say ‘I will do what I want to do’?

    I heard in the summer that Mourinho tried to sell him but that John Terry and some of the other players persuaded him otherwise. All this is indicative of everything that’s not right at Chelsea, who appear to be continually fighting in-house battles.

    As for the game against Bournemouth, I am with Andy in that I am not sure Costa will play. I wouldn’t pick him and I would prefer to see Hazard given another run up top which is where I would like to see him play.

    Whether Costa plays or not it will make little difference in this game. 2-0.

    Recommended