Chelsea have rejected Atletico Madrid’s attempts to swap Jackson Martinez for Diego Costa, according to the Daily Mirror.
Diego Simeone’s side have been heavily linked with a move for Costa in recent weeks, who they only sold to Chelsea for £32m 18 months ago.
And, according to reports, the Blues immediately dismissed Atletico’s cash-plus-player deal, even though they have been interested in Martinez for some time.
Atletico only signed Martinez from Porto at the start of the summer but he has failed to settle and was ominously overlooked in favour of central defender Diego Godin from the bench when they were 1-0 down to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey last week.
The Colombia international has only started eight league games this season and hasn’t found the back of the net since October (vs Valencia). Costa, on the other hand, has hit a purple patch and his woes on the pitch at the start of the season look to be well behind him now. In fact, Costa has scored five goals in his last five league games having only scored three in his previous 13 appearances all season.
For more stats on Jackson Martinez, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
