Diego Costa - Holding out for Atletico as he rejects AC Milan but what will he do between now and January?

Diego Costa has rejected a move to AC Milan in the hope that he can rejoin Atletico Madrid however, the Spanish club are not allowed to register any new players until January. 

I am fearful that the situation with Diego Costa will explode and dominate our headlines between now and January if we are unable to move him away from Stamford Bridge. The situation could become a real distraction for Antonio Conte and for the players as they look to defend the Premier League title this season.

The whole situation has come about for two reasons. Firstly the players insistence that he wants to rejoin Atletico and no-one else and secondly, Atletico's transfer ban so we have reached a stalemate which does not look like being resolved and could prove to be a nightmare.

There had been reports that "super agent" Jorge Mendes had met with AC Milan's new owners to try and negotiate a deal to sign Costa on a five-month contract to January with the player then free to re-sign for the Spanish side. However according to reports, AC Milan are looking to tie him down with a permanent contract and would be prepared to offer Chelsea the £50m they are looking for. This has been rejected by Mendes on behalf of Costa because he has his heart set on Madrid.

Reports in the press state that Atletico are happy to take Costa back but have only offered Chelsea a deal worth around £26m which has been categorically rejected by the club. It's being reported that Diego Simeone believes that Chelsea will eventually have to sell their top scorer from last season on the cheap and will cave in and accept but again, that cannot happen until January whereas Chelsea want rid of him as quickly as possible.

As we have seen Costa has been told to stay away from Chelsea's training ground at Cobham, Surrey and our preparations for the new season. However, as time goes on and if he isn't sold, he will eventually have to come back and that is something no-one wants unless a truce between Costa and the manager can be agreed and he plays some part in our season until January which I cannot see happening.

There is just under a month to go until the transfer window closes and we sit and wait to see what happens. A report this morning has reminded us that while this situation is going on, Costa is still being paid his £185,000 per week wages!

What is going to happen between now and January with Diego Costa? Your guess is as good as mine but I think we can all agree that he will not be wearing a Chelsea shirt!