Chelsea's Diego Costa 'perfect fit' for Atletico Madrid as Lille prepare £36m Michy Batshuayi bid

Atletico Madrid need an "out-and-out centre-forward" like Chelsea outcast Diego Costa, who would suit Diego Simeone's side down to the ground according to former player-turned-pundit Terry Gibson.

Atletico's La Liga campaign did not get off to a flying start last weekend as they had to come from two goals down to salvage a point against newly-promoted Girona. The result against Pablo Machin's side drew comparisons with Atletico's season opener last year, when they slumped to a 1-1 draw with Alaves, who had just earned promotion to the first tier of Spanish football.

Gibson, a former striker who enjoyed stints with Tottenham and Manchester United, believes Los Colchoneros' performance against Girona only served to highlight their need for a specialist centre-forward and says Costa, who is currently at war with Chelsea over his future, would "fit the bill perfectly".

"I still think they are missing an out-and-out centre-forward that allows them to get up the pitch from deep defensive positions at times and to run the channels," Gibson told Sky Sports' La Liga Weekly podcast.

"The man we all know about [Costa] fits the bill perfectly. Whether or not that happens I don't know, but they've spent all that money trying to replace him when he left in the first place."

Costa left Atletico for Chelsea in the summer of 2014, and since then Simeone's side have spent around £150m (€163.5m, $192.2m) on finding an adequate replacement for the Brazilian-born attacker.

Antoine Griezmann, signed from Real Sociedad when Costa left, has flourished in red and white, but Jackson Martinez, Luciano Vietto and Mario Mandzukic all failed to reach the standards set by Costa, who led Atletico to La Liga glory three years ago.

Costa made a similar impact during his three seasons at Stamford Bridge but is now refusing to return to Chelsea's training complex as he bids to force through a move to his former club. The Spain international issued a brief statement last week saying that he "must return" to Atletico, and Simeone's side have reportedly agreed a €45m fee with Chelsea for the 28-year-old.

Costa is not the only Chelsea attacker courting interest from other clubs. Belgium international Michy Batshuayi is attracting the attention of Marcelo Bielsa's Lille, and the Ligue 1 outfit were reportedly ready to offer the Premier League champions €39.2m (£36m) for the 23-year-old, who is made his name in France with Marseille after moving to the Stade Velodrome from Standard Liege.

But The Evening Standard reports that Batshuayi, who scored an own goal during his side's win over Tottenham on Sunday, has no interest in returning to France and is set to play a substantial role under Antonio Conte this season after being consigned to the substitutes' bench for virtually the whole of last season.