Diego Costa in Athletico Madrid transfer
A statement on Chelsea’s website yesterday confirmed that the blues has agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for Diego Costa’s transfer.
The statement which was also posted on their social media reads; ”Chelsea Football Club has today agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa.
The transfer will be subject to the agreement of personal terms and a medical, according to the statement.
Atletico Madrid also confirmed the agreement also in a statement that was posted online
“The English club has authorised Diego Costa to travel to Madrid in the coming days to undergo a medical and agree a contract with our club,” the statement.
Atletico can only officially register Costa on Jan. 1, when the Spanish transfer window re-opens and their FIFA transfer ban ends, but agreeing a deal means the focus can now turn to getting the 28-year-old back into peak physical condition in time for the new-year.
Chelsea included Costa in their submitted Premier League squad list last month in order to give the Spain international a theoretical path back into the first team, but he was omitted from their Champions League squad to avoid him becoming ineligible for Atletico in the competition, and there never appeared to be a realistic prospect that he would play under manager Antonio Conte again.
Costa joined Chelsea from Atletico for £32m in the summer of 2014 and won two Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge, finishing as the club’s top scorer in each of his three full seasons. But he never hid his dissatisfaction with life in England and pushed for a move back to Atletico on several occasions.
He was dropped by Conte in January following a training-ground argument and a lucrative bid from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian, and Chelsea proactively pursued an elite striker this summer eventually signing Morata for the club-record £58m.
Chelsea face Atletico in a Champions League group stage match in Madrid next week, though it is not yet clear whether Costa will be unveiled before then.
