Atletico Madrid Saga involving Chelsea striker set to continue

It is a well known fact that Diego Costa would like to return to Atletico Madrid and on Thursday Gabi confirmed that the club did indeed want to sign him.

Costa's situation at Chelsea is a difficult one with Antonio Conte having banished the striker to the reserves after informing him he wasn't part of his plans for the 2017/18 season.

This clearly put him on the market and as such the price that clubs were willing to pay immediately decreased. Atleti feel they have made a more than fair offer whilst those in charge at Chelsea do not want to set a precedent of selling a player when he wishes to leave.

When asked about the transfer, club captain Gabi confirmed that both Atletico and Costa himself want a transfer to happen.

"From what I know, Atletico Madrid want to sign him and he wants to join, but of course there is Chelsea in the middle and when you are part of a club you must respect the badge and try and leave in the best way," he explained to the media in a press conference.

With Real Madrid looking so dominant in their Supercopa de Espana victory over Barcelona there could be a chance for Los Rojiblancos to take full advantage of Los Cules' apparent drop in quality, a sentiment that was echoed by the 34-year-old.

"It is normal to talk about Real Madrid and Barcelona but we know we are as prepared as them," he added. "We have three matches away from home to start with which isn't ideal but it can be positive for us if we know how to approach the matches."

Atletico's transfer ban has meant strengthening his group hasn't been a possibility for Diego Simeone yet it is has provided the conditions for key figures like Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak to remain in the Spanish capital.

Gabi intimated that whilst Atleti are unable to add players, keeping the squad in place has actually made the group stronger.

"The group has managed to keep their important players, nobody has left and we are at least the same level as last year, that is good and we feel we have come out of the summer stronger," he suggested.

Teammate Koke also faced questions from the media with the Spanish international suggesting that should a return to Madrid materialise, Costa will indeed help the team.

"If Costa joins then he will help the team as he always did, we know he is a great player but right now he is a Chelsea player and I cannot tell you anymore," he explained.

It is always difficult for a team in Atleti's position to set goals for the season when there are two behemoths in direct competition with them, however the 25-year-old is determined that the group starts the season better than they did last term.

"Starting the season well is vital," he noted. "Last year it was a huge blow not to begin in the way we should have with consistency and that now is our first objective, to be consistent in our three away matches."