Diego Costa, who moved back to Atlético Madrid 18 months ago after a three-year spell at Chelsea, has been linked with a move to Everton as the Toffees look to make a statement signing.
His relationship with Atlético has become strained amid receiving an eight-match ban towards the end of last season, while he has also struggled with injuries and form, scoring just two goals in 16 La Liga appearances in 2018/19.
Despite this, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri wants the club to explore whether they'd be able to sign the striker, with the Toffees looking to signal their intent to trouble the top six.
According to the Daily Mail, Moshiri is ready to pay for Costa up front, even though Everton have overspent their transfer budget over the last few seasons.
Director of football Marcel Brands already faces the task of reducing Everton's aging squad, with players such as Kevin Mirallas and Oumar Niasse up for the chop, while Moshiri-era signings Yannick Bolasie and Cenk Tosun are also deemed surplus to requirements.
Costa broke onto the scene in his first spell at Atlético, scoring 27 goals in 35 La Liga games in his final season as he helped the club to the league title in 2013/14.
He subsequently moved to Chelsea for £32m and found more success in west London scoring 52 goals in 89 league appearances and collecting two Premier League winner medals in the process.
He was a controversial figure, however, and was frozen out of the Chelsea squad for the first half of the 2017/18 season. He returned to Atlético in 2018 but has struggled since, registering just five goals in 31 La Liga appearances.
Considering his poor form, his controversial personality and the fact he turns 31 this year, a move for Costa would be a huge risk, as the Toffees would not want to add more deadweight to a squad already burdened with flops on high wages.
Source :
90min
