Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid: Why Jackson Martinez's move to China is bad news for Chelsea

La Liga side prepare to use money from record-breaking transfer to make a new move for Blues striker

Chelsea striker Diego Costa (Getty Images)

Atletico Madrid are planning to use the £31m they made from the sale of Jackson Martinez to launch a move for Chelsea’s Diego Costa.

Martinez broke the Asian transfer record with his move to Guangzhou Evergrande, the Colombian striker signing a four-year deal.

And according to The Daily Telegraph, that could be bad news for Chelsea, with Atletico ready to re-sign Costa two years after he left Spain.

Martinez’s move was negotiated by Jorge Mendes, who is also the representative of Costa and his Chelsea team-mate Radamel Falcao.

Mendes tried to get Falcao a loan move to Atletico on transfer deadline day, but the player did not pass a medical.

Whether a move back to Atletico would appeal to Costa is open to debate, but with Chelsea looking unlikely to secure Champions League football he could be tempted to leave.

Costa has also endured a difficult second season in England after winning the Premier League in his first campaign at Chelsea.

He has scored 10 goals this season, six of which have come in his last seven games.