DIEGO Costa, 32, has reached an agreement with current club Atletico Madrid to terminate his contract with immediate effect, as it ran out this summer.
That means he is free to move on, and multiple reports claim that Arsenal want to sign the former Chelsea forward. And Arsenal could make a shock move for Costa, while Real Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona are all said to be interested in signing him too.
Diego Simeone has confirmed that Costa will leave Atletico, and thanked him for all he did during his two spells at Atletico.
“He gave us a lot and we gave him a lot. He needs a new challenge, I’m sure that wherever he goes he’ll do well because he’s a fighter,” Simeone said.
It is believed that Atletico will replace Costa with Napoli and Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik, who is out of contract this summer and is free to agree a contract with non-Italian clubs in January.
It appears Arsenal are the frontrunners to sign him and it would certainly be a good fit.
Costa will toughen up this shaky Arsenal side and provide a clinical edge as they’ve scored just 15 goals in 15 games so far this season, and three of those games in the shock win against Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Since he returned to Atetico Madrid in 2017 after a three-season stay at Chelsea, Costa has been struck down by multiple injuries and this season he’s often found himself behind new signing Luis Suarez and he’s scored twice in seven appearances.
Even if he doesn’t end up at Arsenal, top clubs across Europe will be scrambling to sign him on a free transfer and he obviously some very good offers lined up to terminate his current deal with Atletico.
Focusing on Arsenal specifically, it would appear that Arteta wants to continue to add extra grit and experience to his squad.
He said he wanted to do that over the summer after bringing in Willian, Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares and even though the young forwards have shone in recent weeks, there is still room for someone of Costa’s experience.
Costa could play up top with Bukayo Saka and Aubameyang either side of him, while Gabriel Martinelli would surely learn so much from the Spanish international.
