Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has revealed that the club tried to re-sign Diego Costa this summer, but Chelsea weren’t interested in selling.
The Spaniard has four goals in as many Premier League games so far this season, proving Antonio Conte to be right to keep him and make him a central figure in his plans at Stamford Bridge.
That takes his overall tally to 36 goals in 58 league appearances since moving to England, and so it’s no surprise that Atleti were keen on testing the waters and discussing a possible return.
With his temperament issues and arguably being unfairly targeted by rival teams and the English media, there had been speculation that Costa might consider a return to Spain this summer.
Cerezo has now revealed that they made an unsuccessful attempt to take him back to the Spanish capital, with Chelsea blocking any exit.
“Costa is a magnificent player. We had the option to bring him back, but Chelsea did not let him leave,” he told Cadena Cope, as noted by Sky Sports.
Part of the issue for Conte was arguably the lack of options that he would have had at the club had he allowed Costa to leave, with summer signing Michy Batshuayi his only natural and experienced alternative in that position.
Nevertheless, it’s turned out to be the right decision from the Italian tactician, who will hope that his main striker can extend his impressive start to the campaign and continue to fire in the goals to keep the Blues in the title race in the months ahead.