Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is obsessed with Chelsea forward Diego Costa
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone cannot get the idea of bringing Diego Costa back to Madrid out of his mind
I get that Diego Simeone and Diego Costa had a good run together at Atletico Madrid, but the La Liga boss seems to be obsessed with the idea of a reunion between the two. Simeone continues to express non-stop interest in bringing Costa back to the Spanish capital next season.
The Mirror is reporting that Simeone is simply refusing to give up on the idea of re-acquiring Costa from Chelsea. The Spanish boss wants his club’s ownership to stump up the funds to make the Blues an offer they simply can’t refuse.
This may be a case of a manager romanticizing what it was like to have a certain player at the club. Quite simply, Costa isn’t the same player that he was when he left Simeone from the Premier League. Age and injuries have taken their toll on the Brazilian/Spanish striker.
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With that being said, the rumors of Costa’s demise have been somewhat exaggerated. He managed to post a Whoscored.com player rating average above 7 last season and led the club with 12 goals on the campaign. He still has what it takes to be an effective front man in either the Premier League or La Liga.
There’s a big difference in having what it takes to be a reasonably effective starter and being good enough to demand a gigantic transfer fee. Atletico will need to stump up a bid well over 40 million pounds if they want to pry Costa away from Chelsea. For that sort of investment, Costa would need to perform like a star again. It’s unlikely that Costa can achieve that sort of level again in his career.
The reality is that Atletico need more than just money to bring Costa back to town. They’re also going to need Chelsea to be successful in their pursuit of another striker. Currently Costa is the only real choice to lead the line for Antonio Conte. The club would have to purchase at least one more big-name striker to even consider parting company with Costa.
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It’s time that Diego Simeone move on and view Diego Costa for what he is, not what he was a couple of seasons ago. His days of being the dynamic leader of the Atletico attack are over. Simeone would be wise to urge his club to bid on a striker who still has his best years ahead of him.