Football pundit Gabriele Marcotti thinks that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was happy to see striker Diego Costa publicly announce that he is not needed at the West London club.

The Spain international recently admitted that Conte has told him that he doesn't fit in his plans anymore.

And Marcotti reckons that Costa's admission might have helped Conte in convincing the club to buy Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

Marcotti told ESPN FC: "Conte has made up his mind that he doesn't want Costa and he'd like to get him out of the way.

"The reason he came out with this announcement, well the reason Costa came out with this announcement and Conte was happy for it to be public, is that in the back of his mind he was perhaps concerned that Chelsea might um and ah over getting him his main striking target, which is Romelu Lukaku right now.

"At some point they might have said 'are you sure you don't want to keep Costa because he score a ton of goals last year and maybe give him a new contract?'.

"This is his way of cutting Costa loose effectively and putting Chelsea in a position where they will deliver the striker that he wants."