Diego Costa willing to make shock Chelsea return as Romelu Lukaku looks Man Utd-bound

DIEGO COSTA is willing to make a return to Chelsea, despite publicly announcing his intention to leave the club.

Costa was told earlier in the summer by Antonio Conte that his services were no longer required at Stamford Bridge.

And since then he’s been angling for a move to former side Atletico Madrid.

But that situation has been complicated by the transfer ban incurred by Diego Simeone’s team that rules them out of registering any new players this summer.

A move to Madrid is still being touted, but Costa wouldn’t be allowed to play for Atletico before the January transfer window.

Now The Sun say a temporary reconciliation could be reached between Costa and Chelsea.

Their report claims that the striker is keen to keep up his playing time as the World Cup is approaching next summer and Costa wants to be a part of Spain’s plans.

And The Sun add agent Jorge Mendes wants to broken a peace between club and player that would see Costa return to Stamford Bridge for another season.

While Costa is thought to be open to a return to west London, it's likely he'd ask for a pay rise to do so.

Chelsea are in need of additional fire power next year after they look to have missed out on Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United.

While they could yet move for Torino’s Andrea Belotti or Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata to fill the void, they understand both those options would set them back a lot more than bringing Costa back into the fold.