Chelsea will launch a stunning £75m bid for Bayern Munich striker Thomas Muller if they fail to keep hold of Diego Costa, reports The Sunday Express.
Costa, 27, was dropped from the Chelsea squad that beat Leicester 3-0 on Saturday after engaging in a war of wards with manager Antonio Conte and members of the Chelsea fitness staff in training during the week.
Conte insisted the reason behind Costa’s absence at the weekend was due to lower back pain but the Spain international has emerged as a target for Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian, who are reportedly willing to pay £80m for the striker.
It remains to be seen whether Costa will be sold in the January transfer window but reportedly has no interest in ditching Chelsea’s title challenge for the riches of China this month.
Nevertheless, Chelsea are putting plans in place to cope with any scenario in which Costa leaves the club this month and will re-invest all the money they get from his sale to sign Muller from Bayern.
The Germany international has endured a frustrating season for the Bundesliga champions under new manager Carlo Ancelotti this term and is reportedly unhappy with the way his own season has gone.
Muller has only started 10 league games for Bayern this season and only has one goal to his name in that time. Five assists makes better reading for the 27-year-old, but it has been a poor campaign for the German. At this stage last season Muller had provided three assists and scored 14 league goals.
For more stats on Thomas Muller, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
