Jose Mourinho’s search for a top-class centre-forward has been narrowed down and he is ready to take the plunge on the Spanish international.
A scouting team sent by Mourinho watched Costa in Atletico’s game last night with Granada, and it is believed that a Summer bid could be in the pipeline with Roman Abramovich willing to spend up to £40million on the star-man.
Costa, 25, has an amazing goalscoring record in Spain and has helped Atletico reach the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.
Negotiations will be complex and delicate because Atletico want to complete the permanent signing of keeper Thibaut Courtois, who is on loan from Chelsea.
Mourinho is unlikely to sanction his sale.
Although an emotional return to Atletico could appeal to Fernando Torres, the Spanish side prefer to sign young players with huge sell-on fees.
The Brazilian-born striker is also expected to be named in Spain’s World Cup squad after becoming a spanish citizen. He made his debut for Spain on March 5 2014 in a friendly against Italy.
Chelsea does want firepower next season and Costa is a lethal goalscorer. There are no frills about his game, but he has been scouted relentlessly by Chelsea this season.
With the exception of Didier Drogba, Chelsea’s record of signing strikers has not been good over the years.
By Joshua Pritchard – @Josh_pritchard1 – https://twitter.com/Josh_pritchard1
