Chelsea Star Responds to Diego Costa Situation as Striker Looks Set to Depart

Chelsea captain Gary Cahill has admitted that the inevitable departure of star striker Diego Costa will be a big miss for the Premier League champions, and has concerns over the depth of the Blues' squad. 

As reported by The Sun, the former Bolton defender is worried by the size of the squad, as Chelsea look to compete on four fronts this season following their return to the Champions League, but is equally as worried by the loss of Costa.

The Blues' top scorer in the Premier League last season with 20 goals looks certain to depart Stamford Bridge this summer, after reportedly being told by boss Antonio Conte that he is not a part of his plans following the pair's fall out last season.

Cahill said: “As a player, he will be missed. Diego Costa is Diego Costa, he scores goals, he’s an animated character and he is a big personality.

“He will be a big miss, we obviously added to the squad with Alvaro (Morata) and that is a great addition to the squad, but you are always going to miss big players.”

Following an indifferent summer for Chelsea, in which Conte has reportedly failed to sign some of his key targets such as Juventus' Alex Sandro, the champions have been left with just 14 senior outfield players to choose from for their season opener against Burnley this Sunday. 

Despite the additions of Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willy Caballero, the loss of midfield enforcer Nemanja Matic to rivals Manchester United and the looming exit of Costa has got Chelsea fans worried, as well as Cahill. 

The England defender said: “Maybe I’m talking out of turn, I would have thought so but there is no getting away from the fact that if you look at the back of the programme from the weekend (the squad is small).

“In terms of quality, we certainly have the quality, you saw that last season, but again there’s no way of getting around it that we have to keep players fit because at the minute the squad is not as big as other squads.

“That’s vitally important for us and we will have to see how that plays out.”