Arsenal are ready to make an audacious move to sign €38m-rated Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa ahead ofChelsea this summer, according to reports.
Costa has enjoyed a sensational year with Atletico with his 36 goals helping the club climb to the top of the La Liga table, while his penalty helped them seal a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge last week to book their place in the final of the Champions League.
His impressive form has led to interest from a number of clubs and with the 25-year-old having a €38m (£31m) release clause written into his contract at the Vicente Calderon, it looks at though Madrid are going to face a battle to keep hold of him this summer.
Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Costa in recent months and reports last week even suggested that they were close to coming to an agreement to take him to West London after Jose Mourinho made the Brazilian-born hitman his No.1 summer target.
However, the Mirror claim that Arsenal are now ready to try and hijack Chelsea’s attempts to bring him to the Premier League with the North Londoners supposedly set to meet the players €38m buy-out fee at the end of the season.
Arsene Wenger is expected to be in the market for another striker this summer to offer competition to Olivier Giroud after being overly-reliant on the Frenchman this season. A player like Costa would certainly appease the fans, who have been crying out for a big-name front-man to be brought to the club in recent transfer windows.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Gunners will be able to persuade the Spanish international to reject the advances of Chelsea and head for the Emirates instead. Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to bring in a world class striker this summer and reports have suggested the man he wants is Costa.
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