Former Everton defender Joleon Lescott believes that Diego Costa and Virgil van Dijk will struggle to find their feet at their respective clubs after trying to instigate moves away in the summer transfer window.
Costa has so far refused to return to Chelsea having been told by manager Antonio Conte that the striker is not part of this season’s plans.
The relationship has turned sour, with the Spain international telling the Daily Mail that the Blues have treated him like a criminal.
Costa made it clear that he was only interested in signing for his former club Atletico Madrid, but due to their transfer embargo, the La Liga outfit are prohibited from registering new players until January.
As for Van Dijk, the defender lodged a transfer request in the hope of sealing a move away, but Southampton stood firm and refused to sell.
The Dutchman has not played competitively for the Saints since January due to an ankle injury, and after making it clear that he wanted to leave, the 26-year-old trained away from the first team.
Van Dijk has since resumed his regular routine at Southampton, but Lescott feels that both the centre-back and Costa will struggle if they are welcomed back into their respective teams due to a lack of fitness.
He told Sky Sports:
“I’d say probably Diego and Virgil van Dijk [will struggle the most out of players who wanted to leave] due to the fact them not being able to train with the first-team and play any games.
“The rest of them have obviously made it clear they do want to move but they’ve been able to train and still perform at a level that is not that far away.
“A lot of them have played international games so they’ve still got some level of fitness. So I think for them two it will be hard.”
