Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has avoided answering any questions on the club’s pursuit of Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
Costa has not returned to Chelsea from his holidays in Brazil and has made it clear that he wants to join Atletico Madrid by the end of the transfer window next week.
Chelsea have ordered the striker to return and resume training and even Atletico Madrid want him to repair his relationship with the Blues so that they can negotiate under a calmer environment.
Atletico Madrid are keen to get a deal over the line, but talks with Chelsea have been slow and Costa has not helped his cause by burning bridges with the Premier League champions and the coaching staff.
Despite the club’s interest in Costa, Simeone avoided talking about the striker and insisted that he is only interested in the players who he can use until January.
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Asked about Costa, the Atletico Madrid coach was quoted as saying by Spanish daily AS: “Las Palmas will be a difficult match.
“The players in the reserve squad and the ones we have with us today are the only ones that are going to take us until January.”
Antonio Conte has made it clear that Costa is no longer welcome in his first team squad.
