Atletico Madrid are determined to re-sign Diego Costa this summer and are preparing an offer worth £26m for the out of favour Chelsea striker, reports The Daily Mirror.
Antonio Conte has told Costa he is free to leave the Premier League champions this summer but the controversial striker only has his eyes set on a return to Atletico.
Chelsea paid £36m to sign Costa from Atletico in 2014 and Diego Simeone’s side are looking to structure a deal with performance-related add-ons that will effectively see the Premier League side recoup all of their original investment.
Any deal is made more complicated by the fact Atletico can not register new players until January after they failed to overturn a FIFA-imposed transfer ban and a return would potentially see Costa sit on the sidelines for the first six months of the season.
However, Costa wants to represent Spain at the 2018 World Cup and has already expressed concern at what missing half of the season might do to his chances of making Julen Lopetegui’s squad.
An alternative solution would be that Atletico sign Costa this summer and loan him out until January, but even that would mean finding a side that isn't in the Champions League and one that is happy with a short-term deal.
In the last three Premier League campaigns only four players have scored more goals than Costa (52).
For more stats on Diego Costa, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
