Making sense of the Diego Costa transfer drama as Chelsea hint at striker's exit
Diego Costa was rumored to be on the way out of Stamford Bridge earlier this summer, but as August crept closer, it looked like he would stay. Atletico Madrid, his former club who was showing interest in bringing him back, starting turning their attention elsewhere. Then on Saturday, Atleti finalized the signing of Kevin Gameiro from Sevilla. That should have been the end of Costa transfer talk, with the primary suitor having moved on.
So why did new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte then say that Costa's future was in doubt?
"I speak only for today and today Costa is Chelsea's player, said Conte. "Tomorrow if you ask me if Costa will remain with us, I don't know."
That makes little sense. Costa did struggle at Chelsea last season and reportedly struggled to adjust to life in England, but there are only a handful of clubs that could afford his wages, not to mention meet the Blues' asking price. Almost all of those clubs have strikers so they aren't looking for new signings, and certainly not one who is 27 years old. The only exception was Atletico Madrid.
Kevin Gameiro celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League final.
The Spaniards had one capable center forward last season in Fernando Torres, but even if he played pretty well, he was hardly dominant. Atleti could do better, and they almost certainly had to. From that standpoint, buying Costa made complete sense for Atletico. But they bought Gameiro instead. They spent a reported €32 million up front, with add-ons potentially taking the deal to €40 million. That's a big sum and almost certainly rules them out of the running for any other strikers.
Chelsea get to keep their striker. All is well and the rumors are over, or at least that's what it would seem, but that ignores one rather large possibility: Romelu Lukaku is on the way in.
The Blues are interested in bringing the striker back and he wouldn't sign on to be part of a rotation or to sit behind Costa. He would start, and Costa wouldn't sit behind him. If Lukaku is coming in, Costa has to be on the way out, even if Atletico Madrid are no longer interested. Conte has plenty of reason to potentially push Costa out the door.
That means Chelsea need to find a home for Costa. They could sell him to Arsenal, but would be shocking. Chelsea aren't in the habit of helping out Premier League rivals and the Gunners don't normally shell out huge cash for players.
New Chelsea coach Antonio Conte (L) and striker Diego Costa (R).
That leaves two options for Costa: Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.
The former is obvious. PSG are flush with cash, ambitious and are interested in adding a striker. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has moved on and while the Parisians could go into the season with Edinson Cavani as their starting striker, they've shown an unwillingness to do so before and would have depth issues. They've yet to be seriously linked to Costa, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they jumped in.
Napoli aren't as obvious a landing spot. They aren't the Champions League contender that Chelsea, PSG or Atletico Madrid are. They may not even be Serie A contenders, with Juventus looking so much better than the rest of the league. They also don't make a habit of paying huge money. But Napoli are in the Champions League and have a hole at striker after losing Gonzalo Higuain for €90 million. That's a lot of money and they could easily throw it at Costa, paying the transfer fee and his wages then still have some left over.
Just because Atletico Madrid was the popular, much-rumored landing spot for Costa doesn't mean it was the only place he could do. There are other homes and while Conte's decision to go public with Costa's uncertain future on the day Atleti bought Gamerio was, at best, bizarre doesn't mean the ordeal is over. There's still a month left in the transfer window and Chelsea still might have Lukaku to welcome in, which means Costa would have to go out and PSG and Napoli would be plenty happy to make it happen.
MORE FROM FOX SOCCER
