Chelsea could have secured an even higher fee for departing striker

Everton were willing to pay as much as £70million to land Chelsea striker Diego Costa, according to the Mirror journalist Darren Lewis.

Atletico Madrid agreed a reported €65m (£57m) fee with the Blues for the 28 year old last week, but the Toffees were willing to top this offer by £13m. Costa was however not interested in a move to Goodison Park, and was holding out for a transfer back to Atletico.

The Spaniard is likely to secure his return to La Liga in the next few days, with the deal said to be an initial loan before a permanent switch is made at the end of the season.

Many Chelsea fans will be pleased that Costa opted to return to Spain rather than remain in the Premier League, where he could have faced the Blues. The forward cannot play for Atletico until January which could jeopardise his World Cup chances, but it seems he never considered another club other than the Spanish side, despite the length of time it took for the deal to be finalised.