Chelsea’s star striker Diego Costa is on the verge of a return to Atletico Madrid according to a report in the Mirror.
The report states that Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has revealed that the 27-year-old is ‘close’ to a move back to La Liga.
Costa joined Chelsea from Atleti for £32 million two seasons ago but has struggled to adapt to the Premier League.
The report goes onto state that Atletico Madrid’s captain Gabi has been instrumental in convincing the Spain international to return to his former club.
“We like him a lot, I’ll admit,” Cerezo was quoted as saying by the Mirror.
“We are talking to the player and working on him returning to Madrid. It’s close, but I can’t say anymore.”
However, The Mirror goes onto state that Chelsea have insisted that they are keen to keep hold of their star forward. The Sun also states that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is also hopefully of Costa remaining at Stamford Bridge this season.
Costa underwent a pre-season medical examination with Chelsea last week. The 27-year-old provided 11 assists and scored 16 goals in 41 appearances for Chelsea last season.
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