Diego Costa was “Chelsea’s Didier Drogba or Zlatan Ibrahimovic”, says Ken Monkou, who believes their struggles this season are down to parting with a talismanic presence.
The Spain international striker netted 20 times for the Blues in 2016-17 as they swept to the Premier League title – the second time in the space of three years that he and the club had achieved such a feat.
Antonio Conte was, however, to take the decision to head in a different direction last summer, with Costa frozen out before eventually sealing a return to Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea have failed to find a striking spark in his absence, with Alvaro Morata yet to fill sizeable boots at Stamford Bridge, and former Blues defender Monkou believes the club are paying the price for sanctioning the sale of a man who offered much more than a goal threat to the collective cause.