Chelsea Agree €91m Deal Following Meeting In London On Thursday

As we approach the opening of the summer window clubs will be intensifying their efforts in the transfer market so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Chelsea agree a deal to sign Diego Costa.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has agreed to join Chelsea in a €42.5m deal after being offered a five-year contract worth around €183,000-a-week at a meeting in London on Thursday, according to widespread reports today.

Costa has enjoyed a stunning season that’s seen him score 36 goals in 49 appearances to help guide Madrid four points clear at the top of the La Liga table and on course to a historic double after netting during a 3-1 aggregate win over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Brazilian-born hitman has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and the two camps have reportedly held a series of discussions in recent months after Jose Mourinho made him his No.1 transfer target, with the Portuguese coach looking to bring in a world class striker this summer.

It appears a move in now on the cards with Goal claiming Chelsea agreed a €42.5m (£35m) deal with Atletico during a meeting in London on Thursday, and the 25-year-old has given the go-ahead to the switch after being offered a five-year contract worth around €183,000-a-week (£150,000) – which is triple the salary he’s currently on.

If the report is accurate, it means the total deal including fee and wages is worth around €91m (£75), which is a significant outlay. However, the supposed £35m transfer fee is more than reasonable in today’s market for a player of Costa’s obvious ability.

The deal is highly unlikely to be officially announced until the end of May with Atletico facing a defining month. Diego Simeone’s men will be crowned La Liga champions if they win their next two games while they will also face city rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Champions League later this month, so Costa is going to want to focus solely on finishing the season on a high before making any announcement over his future.

However, it looks increasingly likely that Costa is heading to West London this summer, and Atletico boss Simeone admitted last month that the cash-strapped club could do little to stop him leaving if Chelsea come calling.

“It will depend on him [Costa] and what he thinks is the best for his future,”

“I will support any decision he makes. It’s natural that Chelsea are interested in him.

“We understand that Chelsea have huge financial power and if he wants to live off football for the rest of his life, I will have no problem in him going. Samuel Eto’o is getting older and Diego Costa could do his thing there but, for now, he is ours.” Simeone is quoted as saying by Goal

Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to add to his strike-force this summer after previously complaining about his lack of ‘real strikers’, despite having Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba at the club.

Should, as expected, Costa arrive at the end of the season it would cast doubt over the future of the trio and you’d think at least one of the current crop will leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Ba is probably the favourite to go, but there’s the intriguing possibility that Torres could head back to his boyhood club and re-join Atletico, having spent over 20 years at the club before leaving to join Liverpool in 2007.

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It’s certainly gearing up to be an exciting summer and Chelsea fans will be eagerly awaiting the start of the new season should they manage to land Costa, as the Spanish international would spearhead a fearsome attack in front of the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian next season.

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