Atletico Madrid are reportedly considering using a Chinese intermediary to sign Chelsea attacker Diego Costa this summer in an attempt to circumvent their transfer ban.
The 28-year-old revealed this week that he had been informed by Blues boss Antonio Conte that he is now surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and will be sold this summer, despite having two years remaining on his current deal.
The Spaniard, who scored 20 goals last season to help them to the Premier League title, was reportedly the subject of a rejected £76m bid from the Chinese Super League in January but is now expected to be sold for significantly less than that.
Costa has publicly expressed his desire to return to Atletico, whom he departed for Chelsea in 2014, but the La Liga side are banned from signing new players until 2018.
According to the Evening Standard, Atletico are considering using Wang Jianlin, their billionaire shareholder, to "engineer a temporary move to the Far East before signing him in January".
Jianlin has strong links with several clubs in the Chinese Super League, and Atletico are hopeful that they could convince Costa to make a temporary switch until their transfer ban is lifted.
AC Milan are also said to be in talks for Costa's signature.
Neil Wilkes
