Diego Costa casts doubt on China transfer and could yet remain with Chelsea as he's the 'owner of my future'

'I am the owner of my future and it does not mean that I am going to China'

Diego Costa has not committed to a move to China as he weighs up his Chelsea future (Getty)

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has cast doubt on his proposed move to China at the end of the season and dropped a hint that he could yet remain with the Premier League champions-elect, insisting that his future lies in his own hands no nobody else’s.

Chelsea are already believed to be planning for Costa’s impending exit in the summer, with the Brazil-born Spain international coming close to joining Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian in January, only for the move to collapse.

Costa and the Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, were involved in a training ground row after the move collapsed, leading to the Italian removing Costa from his team, but the pair settled their differences and he soon returned to the side to help keep Chelsea at the top of the table.

Conte urged Costa to give him “five more games” last week in the hope of securing the Premier League title in his maiden season in England in a nod that even the manager expects Costa to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, but Costa has put a move to China in doubt with revelations that leave his options open between a move to the Far East, a possible return to Spain or even the prospect of him remaining with Chelsea.

“I am the owner of my future and it does not mean that I am going to China,” Costa told DIRECTVSports after scoring his 20th goal of the season in the 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Monday night.

While Costa is happy at Chelsea, he is known to be unhappy living in London, and has his heart set on a return to Spain after enjoying four years in Madrid with Atletico. However, the prospect of quadrupling his earnings to around £570,000-a-week by moving to China could yet prove to be enough to sway him into a Chinese Super League switch, with the club’s chairman, Shu Yuhui, already publicly confirming his belief that he will sign “two or three stars” this summer.

Should Costa leave the club, Chelsea are expected to pursue their former striker, Romelu Lukaku, who has turned down a contract extension offer from Everton in his quest to secure Champions League football, as well as Real Madrid back-up striker Alvaro Morata as he weighs up his future in the Spanish capital after a season of playing second-fiddle to Karim Benzema.