Chelsea AWOL Diego Costa 'moves' family to Madrid in bid to force Atletico Madrid return

Chelsea AWOL Diego Costa reportedly landed in Madrid on Tuesday (12 September) in an apparent step to force his desired move to Atletico Madrid.

Spanish Publication AS says that the rebellious striker doesn't plan to return to London and will instead establish himself and his family in Madrid until he is able to complete his transfer to the La Liga side during the January transfer window.

The 28-year-old forward has been poised to move back to Diego Simeone's side since he revealed in June that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte had informed him by text message that he was no longer part of his plans ahead of the 2017-2018 season.

Costa even handed in the transfer request in the summer to force the move and decided to stay on holiday in Brazil despite Chelsea ordering him to report back to Cobham for first-team training.

However, the Spanish international still belongs to Chelsea after the Premier League champions Atletico failed to reach an agreement over his transfer during the summer market – with Los Colchoneros being unable to register him until January due to a Fifa ban.

Fenerbahce manager Aykut Kocaman recently revealed that they also tried to sign Costa in the last days of the Turkish transfer window – before completing instead the transfer of Vincent Janssen from Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan deal.

AS claims that Fenerbahce offered Costa a €5m-a-year (£4.5m, $6m) net salary after reaching an agreement with Chelsea for the striker to move on loan to the Turkish side until January.

But the Spanish publication says that the Chelsea outcast turned down the lucrative proposal because he only wants to play at Atletico Madrid, having an agreement in principle with Los Colchoneros since July.

Costa's arrival in Madrid with his family puts further pressure on Chelsea ahead of completing his desired move to Atletico.

It has been reported that Costa was planning to travel to London in order to make amends with Chelsea officials to facilitate the move. However, the Spanish publication says that Costa doesn't want to return to the English capital and is instead planning on living in Madrid until January when he can make his return to Atletico official.

Atletico president Enrique Cerezo refused to confirm those reports on Tuesday, reiterating that the Spaniards don't plan to negotiate with Chelsea until January.

"Tell me where they are going to leave to speak with them," Cerezo joked when asked whether Costa has moved with his family to the Spanish capital.

"I do not know [if his family is moving to Madrid]. Diego Costa is a Chelsea player and, until January, there is plenty of time to talk with his club. But before January, we will not do anything."