COMMENT: Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan? Neymar to PSG? Diego Costa to, a-hem, Liverpool...?
Hey, in this market, why not? Phil Thompson floated the idea this week. And it was a good shout. Costa in Liverpool Red? To spite Antonio Conte. To wind up those at Chelsea. All that lot happy to see the back of him? Could you really, truly, not see Costa actually entertaining the idea?
“Dare I say it: Diego Costa signs for Atletico Madrid and then gets loaned out to Liverpool?" laughed Thompson, speaking with the Irish Examiner. “It would be quite a dream, wouldn't it? I'd take him for six months."
The one problem: Atletico cannot actually sign and loan players during their transfer ban. What about Vitolo, we hear you say? Well, he actually bought out his Sevilla contract (mind you, barely 24 hours after signing it), before joining Las Palmas on a six-month deal. Atletico will then sign the midfielder when he again becomes a free agent on January 1. Complex. Complicated. And makes a farce of FIFA's regulations. But if they don't have the stomach to actually enforce their own laws...
So, as it stands, Liverpool would have to buy Costa from Chelsea before sending him to Atletico on January 1. A bit of a mess. And one on the face of it seems unlikely to happen.
But if Liverpool show their hand. If Peter Moore, the club's new chief exec, puts in a call to Jorge Mendes, Costa's agent. Tribalfootball.com has learned the door would be open. Well, at least ajar.
Costa still wants his return to Atletico. As does his old coach, Diego Simeone. But the higher ups have been dragging their feet. As has Mendes, who sees a greater opportunity for Costa with AC Milan and their new board, led by Li Yonghong. If it was up to him, Costa would already be a Milan player, having held extensive talks at Milanello last month regarding several of his clients, including the Chelsea striker.
Mendes has established a beachhead at Milan in the form of Andre Silva. The relationship with the board, particularly powerbrokers Marco Fassone and Massimiliano Mirabelli, quickly growing. They've asked for Costa. Indeed, sources inside Casa Milan admit the trail for Torino striker Andrea Belotti has gone cold primarily because of Costa and Atletico's surprising hesitation.
But what about Liverpool? It's a long shot, but a nice flyer by Thommo. And with options drying up, it wouldn't just be Mendes' side of the table willing to talk.
As much for the player, it's also reaching desperate stakes for Chelsea. Costa doesn't want to return to Cobham. And Conte doesn't want him there. As far the striker's concerned, he's played his last game for the club. Which suits the manager just fine. But with everything so public, Chelsea, just like Costa and Mendes, have found themselves painted into a corner.
As it stands, Atletico do not want to pay what Chelsea are demanding. AC Milanare willing to pay, but Costa doesn't want to go. And a loan deal involving Chelsea sending Costa to Italy for six months before selling to Atletico in January has also been ruled out by the Rossonero.
The equation, for the moment, is Costa sits on his backside for six months collecting £185,000-a-week. But in a World Cup year, Julen Lopetegui, the La Roja coach, has made clear that such a scenario would be unacceptable. At 28 going on 29, Russia is likely to be his last chance of a World Cup. Costa knows he needs to be playing.
As we've mentioned, a Liverpool approach would be considered. Mendes has done next-to-no business with Liverpool and would welcome the opportunity to establish a communication line. Chelsea, of course, would be another matter. But this isn't Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez. Conte doesn't want Costa. He doesn't want him anywhere near the place. Chelsea can't be so particular about who they sell to. And from his end, if Costa was to agitate for Anfield, there'd be little Chelsea could do. No matter today's money involved, a club cannot deny an unwanted player a move away.
In the same interview, Thompson, 340 games with Liverpool, a coach and a manager of the club, correctly recalls they were close to landing Costa several years ago.
"Going back three or four years when Liverpool were in for Costa, I think we offered 20 million. It was 25 million and the deal never got done. I was amazed. If we'd have had (Luis) Suarez and Diego Costa, God, they'd have frightened everybody."
So if not then, why not now? The attitude? The discipline? Luis Suarez didn't suddenly become a biter pulling on a Liverpool shirt. He had previous at Ajax, but that didn't put anyone off taking him to Anfield.
Yeah, the way it all ended was a mess. But Suarez, during his time, had Liverpool reaching for the stars. He allowed fans to dream. Yes, he was a 'basket', but he was our 'basket', they'll say.
“You love these players," says Thompson. "Every other supporter moans at them but you know as a Chelsea fan how much Costa will fight for you, do the battling for you. It didn't matter whether you were playing against Hull City or Manchester United, you knew what you'd get off Costa."
And in this market. In this climate. Anything's possible. Even seeing Thommo's flyer become a reality.
Source: tribalfootball.com