Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has admitted that the club would "love" Chelsea striker Diego Costa to return to the Spanish outfit.
The 28-year-old, who left Atletico to join the Blues for £32m in 2014, was linked with a move back to his former club last summer, but a transfer failed to materialise.
Costa was rumoured to be considering a switch to the lucrative Chinese Super League in January, and even though the striker stayed put at Stamford Bridge, some media have speculated that a summer move is on the cards.
Cerezo, though, believes that Chelsea will prevent the Brazilian-born Spain international from making the jump to the Far East, and even Atletico would struggle to re-sign him.
"It has been a while since I spoke to him. He is at a great club," Cerezo told Spanish radio. "[The press] say he will go to China, but Chelsea will not allow him to leave.
"I would love for Costa to return but it's not easy. He plays for a strong team, a team that is likely to win the Premier League. I don't think the big teams will allow their top players to leave."
The forward is currently the second-highest scorer in the Premier League with 15 goals, one shy of Romelu Lukaku's current tally at Everton.
Danielle Joynson
