Despite their 13-match winning run in the Premier League coming to an end when they were beaten by Tottenham earlier this month, Chelsea are still in pole position to regain the title from Leicester City.

But, their fans in the Football Transfer Tavern will be nervous following the news that has circulated over one of their star men in the last few days.

The Blues were rocked before their match against the Foxes on Saturday when it was rumoured that top goalscorer Diego Costa had been dropped from the squad because of a dispute with a fitness coach, amid reports that the 28-year-old was keen on a big-money move to China – a story that won’t have impressed the punters standing at the bar.

Despite the absence of the Spaniard, Antonio Conte’s men ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at the King Power Stadium, to keep themselves seven points clear of Tottenham and Liverpool at the summit.

It would appear that the ongoing and distracting Costa situation could have reverberations around the club before the end of the month though, with even the landlord torn on what should happen next.

Here are TWO things that Chelsea must be fearful of happening during the rest of the January transfer window…

Diego Costa leaving

Chelsea have stated that they have no interest in selling Costa this month but with the English transfer window open for another two weeks and the Chinese one not ending until February 28th, the speculation will certainly continue for a good while yet – not good news for the Blues punters who were hoping for a straightforward run to the Premier League title.

Whatever the dispute or fallout is – maybe it’s time to get the bouncers involved – it appears to be bigger than then Blues are letting on and they simply can’t afford to have the Spaniard unhappy, or on strike, if they are to see off the challenge of the teams behind them in the standings – the fans standing at the bar will be nervously sipping on their drinks.

Yes, they beat Leicester easily on Saturday but there will be matches when they need the clinical finishing of Costa – who has arguably been one of the main reasons they are where they are in the table this term – but being without him for a considerable amount of time would be detrimental to their hopes of winning the trophy.

Batshuayi becoming unsettled

With the continued speculation surrounding Diego Costa, Chelsea must be fearful of the thoughts of his striking teammate, Batshuayi.

While the punters at the tavern may not have seen too much of the Belgian so far, the attacker will surely be unhappy that he is yet to start a Premier League match this season – with all of his 13 top flight appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench – and he will want more regular first team football.

If the situation with the Blues’ top goalscorer is to continue, then Antonio Conte will need to call on the 23-year-old more and more, and the Italian manager will want him to be in the right frame of mind – even the landlord knows that Conte would be nuts not to use the Belgium international more in the upcoming matches if this is to happen.

Despite the absence of Costa against Leicester, Batshuayi was once again left out of the starting XI, but it could prove to be a dangerous game if there are any transfer developments over the next couple of weeks.