Chelsea want Diego Costa to stay as teammate Pedro admits exit would be a ‘very big loss’ for the Stamford Bridge club
PEDRO has urged compatriot Diego Costa to stay at Chelsea after admitting it would be a ‘very big loss’ if the striker returns to Atletico Madrid.
Costa has been linked with a move back to the Vicente Calderon this summer following a strange season at Stamford Bridge.
Along with Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard, Costa was marked by fans as one of the ‘Three Rats’ perceived to have contributed to Jose Mourinho’s sacking last December.
The Spanish striker managed to find some form under interim Guus Hiddink but failed to impress national team coach Vicente del Bosque, who left Costa out of his 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
Atletico have made no secret of their desire to re-sign the forward after selling him to Chelsea in 2014 for £32million.
Boss Diego Simeone looks set to stay despite being wanted by Paris Saint-Germain, and has reportedly made Costa one of his top transfer targets.
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But Blues winger Pedro hopes his teammate will stay in west London as Antonio Conte prepares to take over, although the Italian apparently has his eye on Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain.
Describing Costa’s potential exit as a ‘very big loss’, Pedro told Mundo Deportivo: We do not know what will happen, but he would be a very big loss for us.
“We want him to stay and we will see what happens with him.
Pedro also took time to comment on his stop-start debut campaign in England, adding: “It was a strange season, a difficult situation. I was playing well, I scored, then everything took a negative turn.
“For me it was not easy with a different language and different culture. My teammates helped me and the fans encouraged me.
“Next year we want to return Chelsea to where it belongs. With Conte we will start from scratch.”