Cesar Azpilicueta has come out to say he hopes Diego Costa’s dispute with Chelsea will be resolved.
Despite the controversy, Azpilicueta hopes his international teammate remains in London.
“I can’t say a great deal [about Costa] other than that he is my teammate at club and international level and at the moment he is not with us in either of the two squads,” he told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I hope the situation can be resolved.
“It’s an issue between the club and the player and, no, I’ve not acted as intermediary. It’s something they need to sort out between themselves and let’s see what happens after the market has closed.
“Certainly [Spain coach Julen] Lopetegui would have been glad to have had him here, but he’s not been training for ages.”
“At all the top clubs, losing is always hard to digest, but I can’t see any crisis, neither in terms of how we are playing, nor in terms of relationships.
“Conte is working his hardest with the idea of doing well, hoping to the end to benefit from the transfer market.”
The full-back said he has been extremely impressed with former Italy boss Conte.
“He came over to London before the European Championship after he had been confirmed as our new boss, but I was impressed by our meeting in Paris after he had knocked us out of Euro 2016,” Azpilicueta said.
“He stopped to talk to me and Pedro and I was immediately overwhelmed by his intensity and ability to concentrate on different things — he had just knocked Spain out with Italy, but he was also thinking of Chelsea.
“His dedication to work is absolute — it’s overwhelming. He’s like a hammer, a very passionate person who always tries to get the maximum out of every situation.”
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