Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has knocked back an £80m offer from the big spenders in China, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

What's the story?

Widespread reports have claimed that Costa has attracted interest from the Chinese Super League - Tianjin Quanjian in particular.

The striker has been pivotal in the Blues’ Premier League title campaign, helping them move to the top of the table at the halfway stage of the season.

As you may expect, the West London outfit are determined to keep hold of their star forward, and according to the Italian publication, owner Abramovich has rejected a mammoth £80m offer.

The report claims that the Russian has warned the Chinese football federation to back off from Costa, suggesting that the 28-year-old is not for sale at any price.

In fact, the club are believed to be keen to offer him a new contract, which would likely include a big hike in wages.

How has Costa become invaluable to Chelsea?

Last season was a dismal one for all the Chelsea players as they finished below the European places and lost manager Jose Mourinho midway through the campaign.

Costa scored 12 Premier League goals in 28 appearances, but there were rumblings that he could leave Stamford Bridge.

The man himself recently admitted to the media that he was close to returning to Atletico Madrid, but following the appointment of Antonio Conte as manager, the striker opted to stay put.

Chelsea fans will be very happy that he did as he has been the ideal centre-forward this season, scoring 14 league goals, making him the division’s current top scorer.

The Brazil-born Spain international has also calmed down his petulance and aggressiveness that got him in trouble plenty of times in seasons gone by.

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