Atletico Madrid will reportedly be given the green light to push through the return of Diego Costa once Chelsea find an able replacement.
According to AS, Costa is Atleti’s priority this summer after their interest in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Kevin Gameiro cooled.
Chelsea had previously refused to negotiate the striker’s sale, but their recent signing of Michy Batshuayi and the arrival of a second forward would change that.
The newspaper claims the Blues are hoping to sign Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain, who was Serie A’s top goalscorer last season by some distance but could leave as his agent-brother Nicolas recently warned he would not be extending his contract.
The Partenopei are holding out for a suitor to pay his €94m release clause, but the Premier League’s lucrative TV deal could see Chelsea come close to forking out such a premium.
Costa, meanwhile, is said to have “not adapted at all to London” and endured a difficult second season at Stamford Bridge, which culminated in his omission from Spain’s Euro 2016 squad.
The 27-year-old scored 64 goals in 134 appearances during his first spell at Atleti, winning La Liga in his final season, and Diego Simeone is said to have targeted the Brazil-born attacker due to assurances that “he would give the team what they need”.
