Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement with Atletico Madrid over the signing of striker Diego Costa this summer, according to the Express. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United had all shown an interest in Costa, but reports in Spain claim the Blues have met his £32 million buy-out clause to trump their league rivals. The move will reportedly go through in the summertime and probably after the World Cup, where Costa is hoping to star for Spain, despite being born in Brazil, who are hosting the tournament. Outspoken agent Francois Gallardo, who has a reputation for making controversial claims about transfers, insists Atletico agreed to sell as they would not be able to keep hold of the 25-year-old. He told La Sexta:
Atletico knows it is impossible to hold onto him.
Gallardo is just the latest source to claim Costa will join Chelsea this summer, while Atletico coach Diego Simeone has admitted nobody is 'indispensible' at his club. Both Arsenal and Liverpool were heavily linked with the forward last summer, while Manchester United have entered the race recently amidst uncertainty surrounding Wayne Rooney. Costa has netted 19 goals in just 20 appearances for Atletico this season to fire them up to second in the table, above arch-rivals Real Madrid and level on points with Barcelona.
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.
