Chelsea’s success in gaining a £57.5 million transfer fee from Atletico Madrid for Diego Costa was down to their willingness to comply with the Spanish club’s unorthodox payment structure. Atletico were anxious to avoid paying for Costa during the present financial year because of concerns that the outlay would put them in breach of La Liga’s Financial Fair Play regulations. To avoid this they agreed to take him on loan for the rest of the season, for which Chelsea will receive a modest fee of £5 million. Chelsea will not get the first instalment of the transfer fee until next July, when the deal becomes permanent, with Atletico planning to finance Costa’s purchase by selling one of his team-mates. Antoine Griezmann is the most likely