Why Diego Simeone Is Right to Say Sky Is the Limit for Diego Costa

Is this really happening?

Is Diego Costa about to shift up a few gears and permanently align himself alongside the world's greatest players?

According to the media furor, the Twitter hype, the stream of goals and the comments of his fellow professionals the answer would seem to be a resounding yes.

"He has shown almost unbeatable performance levels," Andres Iniesta told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, via goal.com.

"[Costa] would also be an important player for Brazil," Dani Alves told reporters in the light of recent reports that the Atletico Madrid striker has decided to switch his allegiance to Spain, via ESPN. "He is not pichichi of La Liga for nothing." 

Meanwhile the Brazilian-born forward's manager Diego Simeone—the man responsible for turning Atleti into a genuine European force one again—has suggested that it is not merely a hot streak, Costa is the real deal he says, via goal.com:

"The sky is the limit for Diego Costa. He can still improve, but he has earned it—he is ambitious and intelligent."

He's right too.

Costa's explosion at the start of this season—he's scored 10 goals in the opening eight La Liga matches—will not have come as a shock to people who followed Atleti last season.

While it's true he has already equalled his league goal tally from last season, it's worth pointing out that eight of his 10 goals in Spain's Primera division came from February onwards—he was also playing a much more withdrawn role with Radamel Falcao in the team as opposed to now with David Villa.

Five of his eight Copa del Rey goals also came after the calendar ticked into 2013 too, equating to 13 of his 20 goals last season—he scored two in the Europa League pre-Christmas as well—came in the current calendar year.

Throw in his rapid start to this season, and the 25-year-old has managed 23 goals for Los Colchoneros in 35 appearances since January 1.

It's not just his goal output which is threatening to put him among the world's elite though.

Last season, alongside the likes of Koke and Arda Turan, he also played the role of creator on several occasions for his colleagues in the Spanish capital.

Squawka stats reveal he directly created seven goals, while also creating another 30 chances in a season which, as previously mentioned in relation to his goal tally, improved as it grew older.

It's not something the football world had been oblivous too either.

Liverpool certainly knew what they were up to when the BBC reported that they chipped in with a sneaky £21 million bid for the forward in August.

Then there's the other side of Diego Costa, of course.

Marca labelled him "Dr Jekyll and Mr Costa" after a match against Real Betis last season in relation to the side of Costa which saw him net the winner, but not forgetting the side which had previously seen him make headlines for the wrong reasons.

He committed 62 fouls in La Liga last season, earning himself 11 bookings in the process, while a red card came his way in the Europa League for a headbutt in a match against Viktoria Plzen, and he was menacingly controversial in meetings with Real Madrid and Sevilla.

In the Madrid derby he was embroiled in a fierce battle of gamesmanship with Sergio Ramos, while then Sevilla player Geoffrey Kondogbia accused him of being racist in a Copa del Rey meeting.

Under scrutiny, Costa famously said that he doesn’t take his work home with him, which Sid Lowe quipped in The Guardian is a good thing, because if he did he might “elbow his wife out the way on the stairs, shrug his shoulders as she lay on the floor and whisper insults to his children.”

Strangely enough, that part of his game is one of the reasons the sky really could be the limit.

As long as it's curtailed, a nasty streak within a player or a team can be hugely beneficial.

"I’ve heard Bacary Sagna say this year we’ve been too nice and we have to be a bit more nasty," Jack Wilshere once said about Arsenal's continued pursuit of a trophy, while then Liverpool player Stewart Downing said earlier this year that the Merseyside club were lacking a nasty side.

That's certainly not something Diego Costa can ever be accused of.

Whether he chooses to represent Spain or Brazil is irrelevant, Simeone is right: Costa is on an upward trajectory, and, as he heads towards his peak, there really is nothing holding him back from great things.

Samuel Marsden is a Barcelona-based journalist who covers all aspects of La Liga and more. Follow him on Twitter:

Follow @samuelmarsden