Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have agreed a swap deal that could see striker Diego Costa arrive at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, according to the Daily Mail. Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is on loan at Atletico, will stay in Madrid permanently as part of the proposal that would see Costa head in the opposite direction. The 21-year-old stopper wants to stay in Spain and will only consider returning to west London if he is given assurances that he will be No.1. Chelsea wanted to retain the services of the starlet despite the fact he has never played for them, but the Belgian has said he would prefer to by playing for a club that can offer him games. Petr Cech is still very much No.1 under Jose Mourinho, and it is thought the Portuguese has no immediate plans to make Courtois his first-choice keeper. Courtois has been quoted recently as saying:
It is not up to me to say I am going to be No 1. But neither do I want to go to a team and not play. I want to play, if not at Chelsea, then at another team.
And Mourinho will use this to his advantage and allow Courtois to remain in the Spanish capital, in return for goal-machine Costa being sold to his side this summer. Chelsea's biggest priority is to sign a new striker with Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o struggling - the trio have just 11 goals between them this term. By contrast, Costa has netted 19 times in 21 La Liga appearances to help fire Atletico up to second in the table, above derby rivals Real Madrid and level on points with Barcelona. And a swap deal for Costa would be very appealing to the Londoners, due to the Financial Fair Play regulations.
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.
