Diego Costa remains Atletico Madrid's No 1 target this summer after club president Enrique Cerezo revealed he would welcome him back into the fold.
Their march into the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday night underlined the club’s need to sign a new striker this summer and Costa remains high on their list.
They scored all eight of their penalties but they could not break PSV down in open play over 210 minutes and it has been a constant problem this season, confounded by Jackson Martinez’ failure to make an impact and his departure from the club in January.
Costa’s disciplinary problems at Chelsea – likely to cost him his place in the Spain squad when Vicente del Bosque names it on Thursday – are only likely to increase their desire to off-load him this summer.
The player wants to return to Spain and Atletico coach Diego Simeone is desperate for some much needed fire power in attack.
Talking to Spanish radio COPE last month Cerezo said: ‘We have a magnificent relationship with the players who leave this club.
'He is a magnificent player but he is a Chelsea player. We will do everything possible and let’s see what Chelsea say because it does not depend on us.’
When pushed on whether the club would go all out for Costa, Cerezo said: ‘We always try to bring the best players and Diego is one of those.’
Martinez signed for Guangzhou Evergrande for £32m in January and Simeone is hoping some of that money can be reinvested in bringing Costa home.
Costa has never properly settled in London and has remained in contact with various former team-mates telling several of them that he would like to return.
He even had a meeting with the club’s chief executive Miguel Angel Gil in the summer in Ibiza.
He would be the second player to have moved to Chelsea and then back to Atletico Madrid after full-back Filipe Luis completed the same journey last summer.
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