After 20 unsuccessful attempts at goal in their scoreless draw with Roma on Tuesday in the Champions League — their second such result in the space of just a few days — Atlético’s need for a proper goalscoring centre forward was once again highlighted. For the longest time, the name set to fulfill that need has been former Atlético striker Diego Costa, whose transfer saga has now dragged on for four months, if not longer. But rumors are continuing to increase, and Marca, for example, are continuing to push the €60 million (inclusive of bonuses) story, with the Colchoneros supposedly waiting on a response from the Blues.
If such a bid exists, Chelsea would probably not dither too much — though as the Evening Standard point out, Granovskaia has been away on “other business” and considering that she’s in charge of such things, an answers may not be immediate. Marca still anticipate a quick resolution — as soon as the current week — but they also anticipated Costa to hop on a just to either Madrid or London, and they were proven wrong pretty quickly in both cases.
As for Atlético president Enrique Cerezo, he is still playing the pessimistic card even as Cadena SER also report (though not for the first time) that a deal for Diego is close, although with less than €60 million involved.
But Atletico president Enrique Cerezo still doesn't seem to think a deal is close."We can not register players (until Jan)but we can sign...
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) September 14, 2017
"We want Costa.Another thing is that we can bring him because there are always a number of circumstances for a negotiation to go through....
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) September 14, 2017
"If that is solved, Costa will come. If it is not solved, he won't join us." #cfc
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) September 14, 2017
Meanwhile, Chelsea are not saying anything, as usual.
For what it's worth regarding Costa, I was told there was no change/update when I contacted #cfc this morning
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) September 14, 2017
Diego, who was supposed to fly to Madrid earlier this week, but didn’t, and was supposed to fly to London yesterday, and also didn’t, probably remains in his hometown of Lagarto in Brazil watching all of this unfold with amusement but hopefully also a bit of concern. Of all parties involved, it is he who needs the transfer to move along fast enough to give him time to train with his new team and get him back into playing shape for both Atletico and the Spanish national team.