Chelsea refuse to sell Diego Costa until summer, West Ham open to Dimitri Payet sale, Arsenal given Mesut Özil boost

The fallout from Diego Costa’s training ground row with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte continues to dominate the headlines with various reports claiming that the hot-headed Spain international will resolve his future this week, with the suggestion being that he will not be sold during the transfer window.

A number of British outlets are reporting that Costa will return to training and settle his issues with Conte, despite interest from China adding fuel to the fire that erupted at Stamford Bridge last week.

Costa spoke over the weekend to confirm that China does not currently interest him, but The Times adds that his desire to stay at Chelsea looks to be a short-term option only as he has rejected the offer of an improved £200,000-a-week contract to stick with the Premier League club.

The Brazilian-born forward is keen to return to Madrid with his family, and both The Sun and The Daily Mail claim he will be sold in the summer after turning down a new deal.

Away from the Costa saga, West Ham are looking increasingly likely to sell midfielder Dimitri Payet as the France international remains on strike after falling out with manager Slaven Bilic. The Hammers’ immediate response to Payet’s desire to leave for a ‘bigger club’ was to frustrate him by now approving any move, but it appears they could yet change their stance.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan said that Payet would not be sold “in this transfer window”, but The Telegraph claims that Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud will travel to London on Monday to hold talks with West Ham in an effort to persuade them to part with the rogue Frenchman.

Marseille are believed to have offered just short of £20m for Payet, with the Ligue 1 side keen to strengthen after the 4-1 dismantling by Monaco at the weekend, and Payet is their top priority after allowing him to leave the club during their cash-strapped days in 2015.

Real Madrid may have suffered their first defeat on the season to halt their unbeaten run at 40 matches after Sevilla’s 3-1 victory on Sunday, but it appears they have won the race to sign ‘the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ after Marca reported a deal was on the verge of being agreed to sign Alexander Isak.

The 17-year-old Swedish striker had attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but the Spanish publication claims Real have convinced the AIK striker to move to Madrid and he will sign a five-year deal upon his arrival.

Finally, Arsenal look to be inching closer to a resolution in the drawn-out contract talks with Mesut Özil after the midfielder expressed his happiness in London, with the World Cup winner expected to sign a new deal in the coming weeks.

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In an interview that was published on the German national team’s official website, Özil says he is “very comfortable” in London and has no plans to change that, which will be music to the ears of Arsenal fans who fear the negotiations were heading towards a stalemate that would see the playmaker leave at the end of the season.