Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Carlos Tevez and Diego Costa Rumours

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Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez has revealed Chelsea are interested in signing him, although he’s set to remain with his current club.

After successful spells in Europe with West Ham United, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, Tevez returned to his native Argentina for a second stint with Boca in 2015. Speaking with Corriere dello Sport (h/t Sky Sports), he conceded there have been teams keen on bringing him back to English and Italian football.

“I'm fine at Boca," said the 32-year-old. “Indeed my idea, my dream is to finish my career as a player in this wonderful club. Europe? Yes, it's true Napoli and Chelsea seek me, but I repeat what I said before. My desire is to stay at Boca until I retire.”

Tevez produced many memorable moments in the Premier League and Serie A. Here is a look at how he’s been faring since his Boca return:

The striker, at his best, would certainly match up well with the principles of new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Tevez’s bustling style, infectious work rate and eye for spectacular moments made him a big fan favourite wherever he went. It’s no surprise he won league titles with Juventus, City and United, as well as sampling UEFA Champions League glory with the latter.

As these numbers from Squawka Football show, at City in particular he was a major thorn in the side of Premier League defenders:

ON THIS TRANSFER DAY: In 2009, Man City signed Carlos Tevez for £25.5m.

He scored 73 goals in 148 games there. pic.twitter.com/mcQyNanVuH

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 14, 2016

Tevez has still been impressive in the top flight in Argentina and despite his advancing years, he could still cut it in the Premier League. The chance to link up with Conte again—the Blues boss brought him to Juventus in 2013—would be appealing, although not as enticing as more success with the Buenos Aires giants.

Diego Costa Boost

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Atletico Madrid are reportedly set to give up in their attempts to bring Chelsea striker Diego Costa back to the club this summer.

That’s according to Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mirror, who has stated Atletico are close to agreeing to a deal for Sevilla’s Kevin Gameiro. It’s suggested Costa was the top summer target for manager Diego Simeone, although should the France international come in, they’d end their interest for good.

It’s stated in the piece the Blues are not happy with how Atletico have gone about their business in the window.

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Gameiro is reportedly poised to join Atletico.

“Chelsea have written to Atletico twice this summer to express their fury at the Spanish club’s conduct in their chase for Costa,” it’s added in the piece. “The Blues were angered by a number of public comments from Atletico officials about Costa.”

For Conte, keeping the striker will be a big boost. Here is a look at how he compared in league matches with Gameiro last term, per WhoScored.com:

Forward Comparison: Costa, Gameiro Costa Gameiro Apps (Sub) 27 (1) 22 (9) Goals 12 16 Assists 6 4 Shots per game 2.4 2.3 Key passes per game 1.1 0.8 Dribbles per game 1.4 0.6 Aerial duels won per game 1.5 0.5

WhoScored.com

Costa will always have a natural affinity with Atletico. While the Chelsea fans adore him, the Vicente Calderon crowd viewed the striker as a deistic figure, as he fired the club to a surprise league title win in 2013-14. 

The nasty, physical and energetic way he led the line perfectly captured Atletico under Simeone. As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, he’s long been a brilliant poacher too:

Diego Costa: Since the 09/10 campaign only 1 of Costa's 93 league goals has been scored from outside the penalty area

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 19, 2016

Regardless of whether Atletico land Gameiro, the Blues can’t afford to lose Costa. While they may have already drafted in Michy Batshuayi to add some more dynamism to the attack, Conte is still short of quality up front; for a manager that regularly plays two centre-forwards, that’ll be a concern.

In Costa, he has a target man and a goalscorer who, despite some struggles last term, has shown his worth at English football’s top level. Looking at the Blues’ other options at the sharp end of the pitch, it’d be a huge shock if the 27-year-old was to depart.