Wolves sweating on Diego Costa work permit as they fear shock transfer for ex-Chelsea star will be KOd by Home Office

WOLVES are sweating over a work permit which would allow Diego Costa to solve their striker crisis.

Bruno Lage will discover today whether the desperate SOS he sent to the former 33-year-old Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker can be answered.

Or whether Costa's application will be rejected on the grounds of his age and lack of recent international appearances for Spain.

Lage targeted the veteran striker, who won two league titles at Chelsea, after Wolves' new £15million signing Sasa Kalajdzic suffered an ACL injury on his debut against Southampton, which will sideline him for most of the season.

If Wolves are given the go-ahead from the Home Office, Costa will fly into the UK tonight, ahead of a thorough medical at Wolves Compton Park training base on Wednesday when his current fitness will be rigorously tested.

Although Costa scored 52 goals in 86 starts at Stamford Bridge he has not played since December when he left Atletico Mineiro.

And Costa would have to undergo a full pre-season workout to bring him up to speed with the demands of the Premier League again.

The Brazilian-born Spain international Costa left Chelsea five years ago and spent four seasons in his second spell at Atletico before returning to Brazil with Mineiro, where he only managed 19 appearances.

Although Costa hasn't hit double figures in a league season since leaving Chelsea, Lage believes his physical prowess and vast experience can help him through his striker crisis.

Raul Jiminez remains Lage's only specialist hitman with on-loan back-up Fabio Silva not scheduled to return from Anderlecht until the start of next season.

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Wolves want to offer Costa a contract initially until the end of this season.

But negotiations will only begin once the striker's work permit application has been granted.