Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid Rumours

Chelsea striker Diego Costa is reportedly prepared to sign for Atletico Madrid this summer knowing he cannot be registered until January because of the club's transfer ban. 

According to the Mirror's John Cross, Los Rojiblancos are hoping to re-sign Costa for £22 million plus add-ons, despite Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian offering £76 million.

Costa is adamant he does not want to move to China, however, and prefers a return to Atleti, who "are so confident of getting their man they have drawn up a training programme to keep him match fit while he is not playing games."

The Blues will likely demand a higher fee for the forward after he scored 20 Premier League goals last term.

However, Costa made Chelsea's desire to offload him public, which has put the club in a difficult position when it comes to getting as much as they can for him, per ESPN FC's Liam Twomey:

The text exchange in which manager Antonio Conte made clear to the 28-year-old he has no future at Stamford Bridge has even been revealed, per Football.London's Andy Ha:

While Costa would likely be worth more than the reported fee given the inflated prices the transfer market has seen this summer and Chelsea will hope his sale can fund other purchases, they may have to settle for it.

There appear to be no other offers forthcoming, and if Costa is going to be kicking his heels on the sidelines until January either way, it's better for the Blues if he's doing it in the Spanish capital than still on their books.

It's not an ideal situation for the player given his ambitions to play for Spain in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but if he's willing to make the move—presumably with the confidence that a strong second half of the campaign will be enough to assure him a place in the team—Chelsea may be better off selling him.