Bets off on Atletico Madrid star moving to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Sky Bet have suspended betting on Chelsea signing Diego Costa, as links between the Blues and the Atletico Madrid goal-machine continue to grow.
Sky Bet’s head of football trading Paul Wiggins said: “We’ve seen an unusually high amount of bets on Costa joining Chelsea, especially given we’re some way off the transfer window re-opening.
“We made Chelsea 5/2 favourites when we opened the market and they have been heavily backed over the weekend at odds as short as 4/7, forcing us to suspend the market.”
None of Chelsea’s misfiring strikers – Demba Ba, Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o – have reached double figures this season, while Costa has bagged 31 goals in 41 appearances to fire Atletico to the top of La Liga, more than the Blues trio combined.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho is almost certain to enter the transfer market for a new top-class striker in the summer, after previously admitting on camera: ‘I have a team but no striker.”
Brazilian-born Spain international Costa will reportedly cost in excess of £35m, although a strong World Cup for his adopted nation could see his price rise even higher.
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