Chelsea are keeping their options open in their hunt for a striker to replace Diego Costa and will not be rushed into a deal by deadlines or leaks of rival interest in their targets.

Similarly, Costa’s antics in Brazil will not force Chelsea into immediately slashing their asking price for the stay-away 28-year-old – even though Atletico Madrid are unlikely to have to pay £40million.

Since missing out on Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea have made enquiries regarding Alvaro Morata, Andrea Belotti and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while Alexis Sanchez has not been fully discounted – despite Arsenal’s public insistence he will not be sold.

Although head coach Antonio Conte and Chelsea do know which striker they would ideally like to sign, the Premier League champions are not just focussing on one target.