Chelsea made what has in recent years become a customary big-money signing earlier this summer when they landed Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid. The Brazil-born Spain superstar scored 27 times in 35 La Liga appearances last season, with his sparkling form in front of goal enough to persuade the Blues to part with £35 million. The total value of the deal to bring Costa to Stamford Bridge was closer to £75 million however when you also take into account the striker's salary, which stands at a reported £150,000-a-week. Chelsea are used to sanctioning mega-bucks deals to bring in some of the game's biggest players, and memorably broke the British transfer record to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool for £50 million in 2011. Boss Jose Mourinho will be hoping for better success from his side's latest big-money buy however as Torres has gone on to flop in west London, with his recent form taking an alarming nosedive. Costa doesn't look as though he's going to be another expensive mistake however as he has already opened his goalscoring account for his new side after just one game.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
