
Chelsea
striker Diego Costa is the ideal man to replace Jackson Martinez at Atletico
Madrid next season, according to
Sky Sports' Spanish football
expert Terry Gibson.
Martinez left the Vicente Calderon to sign for Chinese Super League side
Guangzhou Evergrande last week in a deal worth £31.8m, less than a year
after moving to Atleti.
Gibson feels the deal for a frontman who had scored only twice in the league
was just too good to turn down for the La Liga club, especially if coach
Diego Simeone can lure Costa back to the Spanish capital this summer.
"I was a little taken aback that they let him go, but they must have seen
the price and thought we are actually going to make a profit on him," he
told the La Liga Weekly podcast.
"And this is a player who was not ripping it up in La Liga and who Simeone
had not really fallen in love with or trusted.
"Then obviously talk immediately turned to his replacement next season and
Diego Costa."
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United forward believes Costa
would be the perfect player to take over from Martinez after spending four
hugely successful years at the club before joining Chelsea in 2014.
"I think he is [the right man to replace Martinez] because he fits Atletico
so well," said Gibson.
And Gibson also believes Filipe Luis' decision last summer to re-join
Atletico from the Premier League champions shows that returning to your
former club can sometimes be a success.
"I think Filipe going back has worked quite well," he said, "so it is not
always a rule that applies, is it?
"It depends on Diego Costa too and if he is enjoying life at Chelsea. But
there is always going to be a pull because of what he achieved at Atletico
Madrid. And, of course, if Simeone is still the manager and they have the
money available, it might even be something Chelsea listen to as well.
"But again, it is another club where we do not know who the manager is going
to be next season."