As Conte planned ahead during the summer of 2016, stories surfaced that Costa was on the verge of moving back to Atletico Madrid -- the club he'd scored 43 goals in 94 appearances for before moving to the Bridge in a £32 million deal in July 2014.

At that time, Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann was being touted as a tailor-made replacement for Costa, and the fact that Chelsea and the La Liga club had a history of boardroom negotiations suggested a suitable financial arrangement could be reached and an exchange deal involving both players might happen. As it transpired, Costa (42 appearances, 22 goals) and Griezmann (53 appearances 26 goals) stayed put and both had prolific campaigns for their respective clubs.

At midseason, the January transfer window saw Costa become the subject of an incredulous transfer bid by Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian, who were reported to be offering the striker a deal worth £30 million a year. The striker recently broke his silence on the matter by proclaiming that he would rather sit out the remaining two years of his Chelsea contract than move to China, and if he were to leave it would only be to return to Atletico.

Griezmann, meanwhile, has been continually linked with an £85m move to Manchester United, though recently rated his chances of moving to Old Trafford as no higher than 6/10. With Champions League football now assured for next season, Man United are first in the queue for the Frenchman, although Atletico chairman Enrique Cerezo has hinted the 26-year old is staying put and will feature for Los Rojiblancos at the start of next season when they move to the renovated Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

How Costa's outspoken statement will sit with Conte remains to be seen. The Italian won't be drawn on whether or not the striker's future lies away from Stamford Bridge -- a deja vu scenario which reminds of last summer. Then Costa's departure appeared dependent on whether or not Chelsea managed to sign one or both of Romelu Lukaku (Everton) and Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid) and, big surprise, both Lukaku and Morata are still being talked about as Blues transfer targets.

The question now is, could the Costa/Griezmann exchange deal between Chelsea and Atletico be resurrected? It's a prospect that Blues fans would find far more exciting than the acquisition of either Lukaku, also on Manchester United's wish list, or Morata.

With the World Cup coming at the end of next season, both Costa (Spain) and Griezmann (France) will want their futures sorted out swiftly, as indeed will Lukaku (Belgium) and Morata (Spain).

The key protagonists who will be agitating for their respective boardrooms to act decisively are Conte, Man United manager Jose Mourinho and Atletico boss Diego Simeone. The 2016-17 season may have barely ended, but as Manchester City have already capably demonstrated last week when signing Bernardo Silva from Monaco for £43.6m, squad development is an ongoing priority for all the top clubs.

Conte has continually spoken about improving Chelsea's squad since the London club secured a Champions League berth, furthermore the Blues cannot afford to rest on their laurels if they are to make a successful bid to defend the Premier League title.

Costa's latest comments suggest that now is the right time to move the tempestuous 28-year old on. His destination seems obvious -- whom Chelsea will buy as a replacement less so. After the FA Cup final loss, Conte advised the world of football that he would be taking a few days off. It will be interesting to see what transpires when he returns to work.