Chelsea’s poor attempt at defending their Premier League crown can be traced back to their decision to sell star striker Diego Costa, says former Blue Dennis Wise.

Costa played a huge part in helping Chelsea to the title during the 16/17 season, scoring 20 league goals.

But after a fallout with manager Antonio Conte, Costa was shipped out of Stamford Bridge and sold back to his former side Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea brought in Alvaro Morata to replace him, and despite his best efforts the Blues still sit 16 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

And former Blues star Wise thinks Costa’s absence has been a big hit: “Costa – a horrible centre-forward who nicks goals.

“Today you see the three guys [Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian], they want to come out wide and deep.

“Costa battles and makes defenders make mistakes. That’s what Chelsea miss.

“Someone like a Costa might have got them a goal and it would have been a different game.”

“[Chelsea need] not only a centre-forward but a goal-scoring central midfield player.

“I look at [N’Golo] Kante and [Tiemoue] Bakayoko – they’re very similar… when can one of them really break into the box and score a goal?

“Kante is great at what he does – he breaks everything up and Bakayoko is a bit like him. That’s what I think also Chelsea also need [in January].

“Frank Lampard did it for years and Frank hasn’t been replaced yet. You want to see more goals from your midfield two. That’s what I’d like to see [Chelsea sign] as well as another centre-forward who can get in there and is as good as Morata.”
[Quotes sourced via Goal.com]