Atletico Madrid are still trying to find funds to sign Chelsea striker Diego Costa, according to Il Giorno (via Calciomercato.com).
The Milan based newspaper say that the Spanish club are considering selling defender Jose Gimenez in the January transfer window in order to free up the funds for a €60m bid for Costa. The Uruguayan’s contract expires in the summer, and he is interesting the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus.
Spanish publication Marca have said that Atletico have already offered a €60m proposal to Chelsea for Costa, but so far there has been no response from the Blues, either accepting or rejecting the bid.
The La Liga side have reportedly not put a deadline on when Chelsea need to make a decision, but they are said to be confident that the Spanish international could join up with the squad in the next few days if the Blues opt to accept the deal soon.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena SER (via Mundo Deportivo) last night, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said that although their interest in the player was clear, there was nothing more to it than that so far:
“It is clear that we want to sign Diego Costa but at the moment he is still [a] Chelsea player and we can not sign [players] until January.”
