Never go back. So goes the time-honoured edict, which the Mill avoids testing by skulking beneath the desk in its downtime between bouts of frenzied gossip-guzzling activity. Should Diego Costa take our lead? China doesn’t appear to be on the cards anymore but Atlético Madrid might just be and if nothing else it would be a return to a club where people do seem to rather like him. What’s more, he might not – ahem – Costa very much. His former employers are reported to be offering just £22m, plus add-ons, to get him back and with the player very keen to get the thing done, there’s a chance Chelsea will just have to suck it up. Costa wants it all sorted out quickly but, in a sense, what’s the rush? Atlético’s transfer ban doesn’t finish until January – so along with his big move he’ll get six months off.

Should Wayne Rooney make more like Costa or the Mill? Further to yesterday’s stories, his return to transfer window juggernaut Everton appears to be very much on – and he could even be back at Goodison Park by the end of the week. Not only that, but he might well pop through the door at exactly the same time as Olivier Giroud, whose time being almost good enough at Arsenal appears to have been curtailed by the imminent arrival of Alexandre Lacazette.

Manchester United are, regardless of Rooney’s possible exit, in high-profile need of a centre-forward and, with José Mourinho getting a little hot under the collar regarding a lack of transfer progress this summer, they may need to push the boat out for top target Álvaro Morata – with Real Madrid intent on recouping £72m for their third-choice centre-forward. United also fancy a dabble at the Inter Milan midfielder Ivan Perisic – and they are aware they need to get a few more deals done quickly.



There is a equal willingness among the Premier League supporting cast to splash out on strikers. Leicester fancy spending a Costa-esque £20m on Watford’s Troy Deeney, although the Hornets will hold out for a little more while they scour Udinese’s books for a suitable replacement. Britt Assombalonga is also a man in demand, with Burnley and Championship club Middlesbrough pondering whether Nottingham Forest’s asking price of £15m is too rich for their blood.

Joe Hart just wants to be playing somewhere, anywhere, next season but sees it all rest on the kind of transfer fee Manchester City can command. They want to get shot of him permanently, rather than via another loan, but will that be to the liking of lead suitors Newcastle and West Ham?

And in so-that’s-what-he’s-up-to-now news of the day, the Lord of the Manor of Frodsham Djibril Cissé is to dust off his boots and make a return to the fray with Swiss club Yverdon Sport at the ripe old age of 35 – two years after his last professional appearance. Time will tell as to whether he, never mind anyone else, should have gone back.



