Report: Chelsea, Atletico Madrid Near €60M Deal for Diego Costa
Atletico Madrid are set to finally wrap up a deal for former striker Diego Costa by the end of the week, according to Marca, after Premier League champions Chelsea relaxed their stance on the sale of the unhappy Spanish international.
Costa was told by manager Antonio Conte over the summer that he was not needed for the new campaign in London, and as a result the player flew back to his home in Brazil to spend his time there. Costa made clear on a number of occasions that Atletico were the only club he wanted to join, but a deal was not completed given Atletico were under a transfer ban at the time.
That embargo ends at the start of 2018 - meaning Atleti could officially sign Costa in January - but Chelsea had previously been refusing to discuss a transfer until Costa returned from Brazil and reported for training at Cobham, even while exiled from first team matters.
The Blues have now however decided to talk figures with Atletico, and while the full details of the deal have yet to be made available, it's believed that they will eventually close an agreement to transfer the player for a fee of €60m - a club record for Atletico.
Costa's position on the matter would be that he would not return until an agreement was reached - though Chelsea wanted to do it the other way around - but it appears that following talks between the player's agent and Chelsea, a breakthrough has been made. The report claims things should be wrapped up by the end of the week if all goes as planned.
That doesn't however mean Costa would officially join Atletico straight away - he'd have to wait until the new year for that - but he could be back in training over the next few weeks.
