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Premier League: Diego Costa back in Chelsea training after bust-up with Antonio Conte

Star Chelsea striker Diego Costa has returned to first team training with the Blues.

Costa, 28, was dropped from the first team and left to train in isolation after a bust-up with Antonio Conte last week over his fitness.

The rift is believed to have been related to a massive offer, worth approximately £30m a year, to join Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa is back in first team training
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is back in first team training

The fiery forward, who has scored 14 goals in 21 appearances this season for Chelsea, was eager to move to China but the recent implementation of a new rule on foreign players has left him stranded.

Indeed Costa’s agent Jorge Mendes travelled to China to hold talks with the club for the Spain international, as confirmed by club owner Shu Yuhui.

“I made an appointment with (Jorge) Mendes and he came to my hometown to visit me,” he told Tianjin Sports Channel.

Chinese Super League clubs can now only play up to three foreign players each match day, which has led to Tianjin Quanjian ending interest in Costa as well as Edinson Cavani, Karim Benzema and Radamel Falcao.

It appears as though Costa could now play a part in Chelsea’s title charge, with the Blues seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham.

It is now up to Italian boss Conte to decide whether the striker will feature in the Blues’ clash against Hull on Sunday.