London – Liverpool have launched a bid to make Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa one of the most expensive players in their history.
They have submitted a almost £22m offer to trigger a release clause in Costa’s contract and are aiming to make the Brazil ace their highest profile summer addition.
Atletico are considering the Anfield club’s offer.
Liverpool have refused to make any comment about the potential arrival of Costa, 24, a powerful 1.9m tall forward who has courted controversy at times during his career. He was sent off in the Champions League last season for butting Viktoria Plzen’s David Limbersky and was also booked 10 times in La Liga for his sometimes overly physical approach.
But should the deal be completed, Costa would find himself only behind Andy Carroll (£35m), Fernando Torres (£26m) and Luis Suarez (£22.8m) in the list of Liverpool’s costliest signings.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has been eager to bolster Liverpool’s attacking options all summer – he said in May he wanted to ‘“add goals” to his squad – but Costa is not being brought in to pave the way for Suarez’s departure. – Daily Mail
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