Chelsea have long been linked with the signing of Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, with a £32 million release clause making him quite affordable to their oligarch owner Roman Abramovich.
The Daily Mirror claim he is likely on his way to Stamford Bridge with the Blues ready to activate that clause as soon as the summer transfer window opens.
Here are three reasons he would be the perfect signing for the Blues.
Finishing
Diego Costa has scored 25 goals in 30 La Liga games this season, as well as seven in six UEFA Champions League fixtures.
The 26 year-old has scored three fewer goals in the Spanish top flight than top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, but his strike rate is far better.
Costa’s 25 goals have come from 98 shots on goal (3.3 per appearance).
Ronaldo has scored 28 goals from 199 shots (7.4 per match), meaning that he has taken over twice as many shots to score three more goals.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s record signing Fernando Torres has taken 52 shots to score four Premier League goals.
Work rate
Part of what makes Atletico Madrid such an excellent side under Diego Simeone is the work of fitness coach Oscar Ortega in between matches.
Atleti are perhaps the hardest working team in Europe, and Diego Costa performs an extraordinary job at the top of the attack, pressing goalkeepers, defenders and dropping back to play a midfield role when he is eventually bypassed.
The ability to panic opposition players in possession could prove hugely useful for Chelsea next season with Costa in the squad.
Big game mentality
This season, Diego Costa has scored in some of Atletico Madrid’s biggest games against the likes of Real Madrid, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, FC Porto, Valencia and AC Milan.
While Chelsea’s top scoring striker Samuel Eto’o has done well to find the back of the net against FC Schalke 04, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Galatasaray and Arsenal, he has also gone through huge dry spells.
Costa doesn’t go missing in either the big games or against the teams his side are expected to beat.
He simply gives his all in every single game, and that attitude can prove infectious throughout a team.