Turkish giants Besiktas are reportedly prepared to lodge a late raid to sign Spanish striker Diego Costa from Chelsea.
The 28-year-old is currently on an indefinite strike in his native Brazil after Antonio Conte decided to exclude him from his first-team plans via a text message in June.
According to OK Diario, Costa could leave Stamford Bridge on a temporary basis to Istanbul this week with the Turkish transfer window only due to close on Friday. Costa has recently been included in the Blues’ Premier League squad for the current campaign, but he has yet to end his self-imposed exile in Brazil after his move to Atletico Madrid fell through.
Diego Simeone’s side were eager to wrap up a deadline-day move for their former striker, but they could not finalise an agreement with the Blues, who were reluctant to negotiate on their £50m asking price. As a result, Atleti are likely to return for the marksman in the New Year when they will have their transfer ban lifted.
Besiktas have already shown their ambition this summer by bringing in the likes of Pepe and Alvaro Negredo, and they appear keen on adding Diego Costa on a short-term basis although he could refuse to play in the Champions League. Chelsea have already decided to drop Costa from their Champions League squad for the season, and this could avoid him from being cup-tied, should Atletico Madrid sign him in the second half of the campaign.
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui recently excluded Costa for the World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece, and he has since gone on to insist that the striker could miss out on the World Cup squad unless he gets his act together. Costa has not made a competitive appearance for Chelsea since last season’s FA Cup final which ended in a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.