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What's the story?
The transfer windows have closed almost everywhere but the Diego Costa transfer saga is still doing the rounds. According to The Sun, the out-of-favor Chelsea striker, who has fallen out with manager Antonio Conte, could seal a short-term loan move to Turkish giants Besiktas.
Besiktas are eyeing up a move for Costa and are hopeful about signing him before the Super Lig's transfer window closes on Friday. The club's top brass expect the move to be hassle-free as it will work in favor of both parties.
In case you didn't know...
Diego Costa was told by Antonio Conte over a text message that he doesn't feature in his plans for the new season. Costa lashed out at Conte and even uploaded a video of himself partying in Brazil wearing an Atletico Madrid shirt.
Costa, who was Chelsea's top scorer last season, wants to return to his former club Atletico Madrid but the Spanish giants are in a fix owing to a transfer ban. They are prohibited from signing players until January next year.
Besiktas had already made a high profile signing in Pepe who joined from Real Madrid.
The heart of the matter
Atletico Madrid have tried negotiating with Chelsea to sign Costa in January. However, the clubs are far apart in their valuation of the belligerent forward. Chelsea have slapped a £50m price tag on the Spaniard. Atletico Madrid are, however, only willing to pay a sum in the ballpark of £30m.
AC Milan and a host of other clubs had been linked with Costa. But since nothing materialized on that front, Chelsea asked Costa to return to training and keep himself match fit in case he is needed to fill in as the reigning champions of the Premier League make a return to the Champions League. His teammates expect him to return and let bygones be bygones.
But Costa revealed in an interview that he has absolutely no intentions of returning to Stamford Bridge. Costa's car which remains at Chelsea has been moved to the development squad's car park. This is the latest move by Conte that indicates that Costa doesn't feature in his first team plans.
Atletico Madrid will want Costa to be match fit when they sign him once their transfer ban is lifted. For this reason, it is imperative that Costa gets game time in any of Europe's top flight leagues. A move to Besiktas will, therefore, cater to everyone's best interests.
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Author's Take
There's a lot of tension between Chelsea and Costa as of now. Conte has already signed Alvaro Morata as a replacement for the 28-year-old. A loan spell ahead of a permanent move to Atletico Madrid could just be what the doctor ordered for all parties involved. However, Chelsea have a lack of squad depth and it will be interesting to see whether they demand Costa to return to their ranks or not.
