Atletico Madrid are hopeful of sealing a deal for castaway Chelsea striker Diego Costa within the next fortnight but as of Wednesday, the forward remained holed up in his hometown of Lagarto.
Following an explosive summer dispute with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, Costa has not returned to London since the FA Cup final in May and continues to be fined for his absence by Chelsea.
Sources in Lagarto say that Costa was still in Brazil on Wednesday morning but that he does intend to move to Madrid in the next couple of weeks in an attempt to force through a move.
Atletico and Chelsea remain locked in talks as they seek to thrash out the terms of a £50m deal before the clubs meet in the Champions League at the end of this month.
Atletico are under a transfer embargo until January and therefore Costa would be unable to play for Diego Simeone's team anyway until the turn of the year.
However, Atletico are conscious that although Costa has trained with a personal trainer in Brazil, he is some way below match fitness. In an ideal world, Simeone therefore wants Costa to be training with the team and getting himself match fit before the next round of international fixtures in October.
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