AC Milan are still interested in signing Chelsea outcast Diego Costa but will only sign the striker on a permanent deal, reports The London Evening Standard.
Costa has been told to leave Chelsea this summer but the Premier League champions are having trouble selling the Spain international.
The 28-year-old only wants to return to Atletico Madrid this summer but that deal has been made more complicated by the fact Diego Simeone’s side cannot register players until January.
Costa doesn’t want to spend the first six months of the season on the sidelines with the 2018 World Cup around the corner and there were suggestions he could join Milan on loan for the remainder of 2017.
However, while Vincenzo Montella’s side are interested in signing the troublesome striker, they do not want to be a temporary home for Costa and will only look to sign him outright.
Despite the fact Antonio Conte has already told Costa he is surplus to requirements, Chelsea are looking to command £50m for the forward and that has made selling the striker even harder.
Costa isn’t expected to return to Chelsea this summer and is even training alone back in his native Brazil after Conte’s side signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid last month.
In the last three Premier League campaigns no striker has been fouled more times than Costa (166). Moreover, only two players have scored more goals from inside the penalty area in that time than Costa (50).
