Chelsea have granted both Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic permission to miss the club’s pre-season tour of China and Singapore – amid the duo’s negotiations for an exit from Stamford Bridge.
Sky Sports announced on their Twitter account that the Premier League title winners will be omitted from Antonio Conte’s travelling squad on Monday as their exit from the Blues nears.
BREAKING NEWS: Chelsea grant Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic permission to miss pre-season tour of Far East. #SSN
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) July 14, 2017
Both Costa and Matic have long been touted with a move this summer after being considered surplus to requirements by Conte, with Atletico Madrid and Juventus the front-runners for the duo respectively.
28-year-old Matic is said to have received interest from both Juventus and Internazionale, according to the Guardian, after his reported move to Manchester United was scuppered following Romelu Lukaku’s dismissal of Chelsea in favour of a move to Old Trafford.
After the Serbian international’s contract negotiations with Chelsea stalled in the past few months, he expressed his desire to leave the club where he has since been training on his own at the club’s Cobham base.
Chelsea are understood to be demanding a fee in the region of £40m for Matic, and with regular talks with Juventus already in progress over defender Alex Sandro the 28-year-old is also set to be up for discussion.
Matic is now set for a talk with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia in the hope that a deal can be agreed for his transfer, now that the Blues have acquired Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko – subject to a medical.
Costa on the other-hand has remained in his native Brazil as he awaits further negotiations over his future, with a possible return to Atletico Madrid on the cards.
Despite the Spanish side’s transfer ban – which would prevent Costa from featuring for the club until January – the striker maintains the hope that a compromise can be reached for his transfer fee.
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