Diego Costa’s wage demands appear to have scuppered any chance of the former Atletico Madrid striker returning to England with Wolverhampton Wanderers, as reported by the Mail.
Wolves are no strangers to making a big-name signing, but do not make the mistake in assuming that the Black Country giants are willing to hand out mega-money contracts like they are going out of fashion.
No one in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad earns in excess of £100,000-a-week.
In contrast, former Chelsea bulldog Costa took home a staggering £265,000-a-week during his second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Now a free agent after his eye-watering contract was ripped up last week, the 32-year-old Spain international has been linked with a move to Molineux as Raul Jimenez strives to return from a fractured skull.
The identity of his agent – a certain Jorge Mendes – will come as no surprise.
But, according to the Mail, Costa is simply too expensive for Wolves.
And it seems unlikely that one of the Premier League’s best-run clubs are going to tear up their wage structure to incorporate a 30-something centre-forward who scored just 12 goals in 61 games during an injury-hit spell in the Spanish capital.
Costa is no longer the fearless, ferocious battering ram of a number nine who fired Chelsea to top-flight glory under Antonio Conte in 2017, after all.
Those days are long gone.
Interestingly, the Mail suggests that Wolves could instead turn to forgotten man Patrick Cutrone to fill a Jimenez-shaped void, despite the Italian’s struggles on loan at Fiorentina this season.
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