Since Luis Suarez left for La Liga, the Premier League has missed a player to fill the backpages for the wrong reasons on a semi-regular basis.
But judging from the reaction to Diego Costa's antics against Liverpool last night - involving a couple of alleged stamps - the Chelsea striker is looking to single-handedly fill the void.
However, for any seasoned watchers of Spanish football it won't come as a surprise that the Brazilian-born Spain international can be a magnet for controversy and a one-man wind-up merchant.
So what has made Costa the personality and player that he is today?
Our European football correspondent Graham Hunter joined us on Off The Ball tonight and highlighted the former Atletico Madrid man's humble beginnings.
"The family is very humble and not very well off," said Graham. "He was playing in some of the most dire conditions, sometimes playing on concrete and certainly playing street football in a fairly run-down region of Brazil.
"He stood out, and as a kid he was always playing with people two or three years older than him. It meant that he was kicked around a lot and was always the smallest guy when he was growing up," Graham explained, before revealing an anecdote about Costa getting sent off in the game in which he was scouted.
Graham, who recommended Costa to Newcastle as a replacement for Andy Carroll, highlighted the difficult maturation process for the 26-year-old as he arrived in European football.
But as Graham explained, the fiery Diego Simeone, ironically, was the man who managed to calm some of the forward's aggressive streaks, which then had a productive knock-on effect in terms goalscoring return.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
