Chelsea striker Costa eyes return to Vicente Calderon
Spanish footballer expert Guillem Balague believes Chelsea striker Diego Costa would love to return to former club Atletico Madrid.
The 27-year-old had struggled for form alongside the rest of the Chelsea squad, despite being the club’s top scorer with eight goals, is reported to want to leave Stamford Bridge.
Costa, who made his name with Atletico, is eyeing a return to the Spanish capital after being dubbed a ‘rat’ alongside Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard by a large number of Chelsea supporters.
“Costa would love to go back to Atletico,” Balague said.
“But (boss, Diego) Simeone wants to see first what he can get from (Jackson) Martinez before trying anything else.”
Uninterested and unsettled
Costa has never looked completely settled at Chelsea, particularly so on the pitch, despite having found the net on a regular basis soon after he made the move to West London.
The player publicly showed his discontent with previous boss Jose Mourinho, throwing his bib after being told he wasn’t coming on, and speculation of a fall out and unhappiness with the former Portuguese coach amongst himself and a number of other players in the squad.
Costa could be in with some luck if Martinez, who joined Atletico for £25 million last summer, fails to find goal-scoring form for Simeone’s side. The Colombian has scored three goals for Atletico, with one of those in the Champions League.
Chelsea are unlikely to want to cash in on a player they spent around £32 million on after a year and a half at the club, but their permanent managerial appointment in the summer could dictate Costa’s future.
