Spanish international Diego Costa has reportedly communicated to the Chelsea hierarchy his wish to leave the club and return to Atletico Madrid.

 

Diego Costa joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014 after the Blues activated the £32m release clause in his contract. The striker revelled in his debut season at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho and scored in his league debut for the club in their season opener against Burnley. The Spain international went on to score seven goals in his first four appearances, surpassing Sergio Aguero and Micky Quinn on his way to a new Premier League record.

The season just kept getting better for the former Atletico Madrid man as he finished 2014-15 with 20 league goals and 3 assists to his name. The striker was awarded the Man of the Match award 5 times in the season and ended the season with an average rating of 7.43 (stats via whoscored). The 29-year-old’s contribution was crucial in Chelsea’s title winning campaign that also included a League Cup trophy. His performances also saw him being named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2014-15 campaign.

Diego Costa had a dream of a debut season with Chelsea scoring 20 league goals in a title-winning campaign and was lauded by pundits and experts for his menacing form.
Diego Costa had a dream of a debut season with Chelsea scoring 20 league goals in a title-winning campaign and was lauded by pundits and experts for his menacing form.

However, 2015-16 was a trainwreck for the whole Chelsea squad, with Jose Mourinho getting the boot after a tumultuous start to the season. Diego Costa was no exception. The striker was occasionally benched by Mourinho before his sacking, with reports of a fallout between the two. Chelsea struggled and ultimately finished outside of the European spots in their lowest finish in a decade. Diego Costa, however, despite his club’s struggles, returned decent figures with 12 goals and 6 assists to his name in his 28 Premier League appearances.

The striker has been rumoured to be unhappy at Chelsea ever since the end of last season and has been regularly linked with a move to his former club Atletico Madrid. There were also recent reports of Chelsea looking to replace the striker with Argentine Gonzalo Higuain.

The 29-year-old has since had a troubled stay at Chelsea embroiled with controversies revolving around his violent and provocative behaviour on the pitch and has reportedly grown unhappy at the club.
The 29-year-old has since had a troubled stay at Chelsea embroiled with controversies revolving around his violent and provocative behaviour on the pitch and has reportedly grown unhappy at the club.

Fresh reports from Spanish publication AS have now claimed that the fiery Spaniard has told the hierarchy at Chelsea that he wishes to leave the club and move back to La Liga with Atletico Madrid. The report also goes on to state that new manager Antonio Conte has tried to talk Costa out of a move but the striker seems to have made his mind up. Conte and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich have both been made aware of the 29-year-old’s wish despite no public talk of the striker wanting a move.

Chelsea have already signed Michy Batshuayi from Marseille but are reportedly not willing to sell Costa until they sign another world-class striker as the Spaniard’s replacement. Diego Costa wants a move, Atletico Madrid are perpetually interested and Chelsea are most likely to not hold on to an unhappy player in the squad provided they sign a replacement.

The move, if it happens, will complete the full transfer circle which was started by Filipe Luis and Diego Costa moving to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in 2014. Luis made the move back to Diego Simeone’s side last summer and Diego Costa seems to be eager to follow in his former teammates’ footsteps.

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