Chelsea Transfer News: Jamie Vardy, Diego Costa Reportedly Targeted by Everton

Everton are reportedly hoping to beat Chelsea to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy and are also said to be considering a £30 million bid for Diego Costa.

According to John Richardson at the Mirror, Everton manager Ronald Koeman wants a striker to replace the departed Romelu Lukaku and could look to make a bid for Vardy, who has been targeted by Chelsea.

The Toffees are also said to be lining up a move for Costa, with talks expected today as the two teams clash at Stamford Bridge, per Marc Williams at the Daily Star.

Everton have already signed Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez this summer but appear keen to strengthen further after losing last season's top scorer Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United.

Per Richardson, the presence of director of football Steve Walsh, a former Leicester scout, may help the Toffees' cause, although Vardy only signed a new deal last summer.

Leicester put up a disappointing defence of their title last season, finishing 12th, yet Vardy still managed 13 Premier League goals, and Opta neatly highlighted how he could fill in for Lukaku at Goodison Park:

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Vardy revealed how he turned down a move to Arsenal last summer, and it remains to be seen if he would be tempted to leave Leicester just over a year later.

However, Everton could turn to Costa instead, with manager Antonio Conte having recently said he will not pick the striker for Chelsea again, per the Guardian's Jacob Steinberg.

Costa scored 20 goals for the Blues last season as they won the Premier League but fell out with Conte after he said the Italian had informed him by text he was no longer part of his plans, per BBC Sport.

Costa has also said that his wish is to return to former club Atletico Madrid, but that move is complicated by the club's current transfer embargo, which means they cannot register new players until January, per Ben Fisher at the Guardian.

Costa certainly seems set to leave Chelsea before the close of the transfer window and has already proved he can be a success in the Premier League, although his temperament can let him down, as noted by Whoscored.com:

Koeman has already said he would "welcome" Costa at Everton, should the striker be tempted to make the move from London to Merseyside, per Chris Bascombe at the Telegraph.

However, Costa's preference is clearly a return to Madrid, and Chelsea will surely hope to resolve the situation before the close of the transfer window on Thursday, rather than keep an unhappy player.