The big news: Chelsea drop Costa

Chelsea’s Diego Costa has been dropped from the squad for Saturday’s game against Leicester City. According to reports, Costa was involved in a heated dispute with fitness coach Julio Tous over an injury that has been hindering him. However, the row also involves an offer from a Chinese club, which is in the region of about £30 million. Costa has scored 14 goals and provided five assists this season.

Many Premier League players have been a subject of speculation and have transferred to the Chinese Super League recently. Former Chelsea players Jon Mikel Obi and Oscar joined Chinese clubs Tianjin TEDA and Shanghai SIPG respectively. Former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez also joined Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors in a deal reportedly worth £310,000 a week.

Football:

  • Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba praised manager Jose Mourinho for his recent rise in form. Pogba praised Mourinho for giving him a free hand on the pitch, which has allowed him to express himself more.
  • Barcelona have punished club official Pere Gractacos for expressing his opinion about striker Lionel Messi that did not match with the club’s. Gractacos said that Messi wouldn’t have been as good without Andres Iniesta and Neymar helping him.
  • Jose Mourinho’s sacking cost Chelsea £8.3 million in compensation, according to the figures released by the club. The club eventually finished 10th in 2015, the year he was sacked.
  • Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has signed Leicester City’s Jeffery Schlupp. This is the former England manager’s first signing at the club. Schlupp has reportedly signed a four-and-a-half year contract for £12 million.
  • Chelsea coach Antonio Conte said that captain John Terry will not leave the club during the January transfer window. Reports emerged that Bournemouth have expressed their wish to sign Terry and his contract is due to expire in the summer. 
  • Arsene Wenger said that Santi Cazorla could be sidelined for another 10 weeks after needing a second surgery on his troublesome right foot. Cazorla hasn’t been in action since October and has been struck with injury frequently over the past two seasons.

Cricket:

  • Former India skipper MS Dhoni expects Virat Kohli’s side to be the “most successful Indian team ever”. Dhoni also added that the concept of dual captaincy did not work for India. He was addressing a press conference in Pune on Friday. 
  • Gujarat need another 264 runs to win the Ranji Trophy final in Indore on Saturday. Mumbai were bowled out for 411 in the second innings, setting a target of 312 for Gujarat, who were 47/0 at end of day’s play.
  • Ben Stokes has thrown his name in for next month’s Indian Premier League auction in order to expand his game. If Stokes is picked, he will become the third player from the current English side, after captain Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, to play in the tournament. 
  • Australia beat Pakistan by 92 runs in the first One-Day International in Brisbane. Powered by Matthew Wade’s century, Australia reached 268/9. Pakistan were bowled out for just 176 with James Faulkner taking 4/32.

Tennis:

  • Britain’s Johanna Konta registered a 6-4, 6-2 win in the final of the Sydney International against Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska. This was Konta’s first win against Radwanska and with the Australian Open set to begin next week, Konta seems set for a top-four finish.
  • Brit Dan Evans reached his first ATP Tour final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Andrey Kuznetsov in the semi-finals of the Sydney International. The world No. 67 will face Giles Muller in the final on Saturday.