Diego Costa wants to reunite with Atletico Madrid star Arda Turan at Chelsea

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has encouraged Jose Mourinho to go ahead with the signing of Arda Turan after saying "it would be fantastic" to reunite with his former Atletico Madrid teammate at Stamford Bridge next season.

The 28-year-old attacking midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea and Manchester United in recent days after his agent, Ahmet Bulut, admitted the Turkish international wants to leave the Vicente Calderon to play in the Premier League.

"He is planning on leaving Spain this summer. He would like to play in the Premier League. This is the path he would like to see his career take. His departure from Atletico won't be easy due to his €41m buyout clause. I'm in discussion with three clubs but I can't reveal their names. They are three of the best clubs in England and indeed in Europe," Bulut said to AS at the end of June.

And even though Catalan newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo claimed on 2 July Turan is on the verge to complete a move to Barcelona – with a contract agreed between the clubs – the player himself denied those reports on his Twitter account.

"Some reports about my move are not correct. I am on holiday and resting," he said.

Having broke the news about his desire to leave Atletico Madrid in first place, AS have claimed that Turan still prefers a move to the Premier League. They say he has a "lucrative agreement with Manchester United", but Chelsea remain his first choice.

AS claims that Turan would like to reunite with his former Atletico Madrid teammates Thibaut Courtois and Costa at the West London side, while a part-exchange for Filipe Luis could ease the negotiations to reduce his €41m (£29m) buyout clause.

And Costa has now hailed Turan's potential move from the Vicente Calderon to Chelsea after he made the same decision just 12 months ago.

"It would be fantastic. Arda makes everything so much easier out on the pitch. Arda, Filipe and I function perfectly. And Arda is such a great person. He invited us to eat at his house many times; I really liked his kebab. The whole team would go round to his house for dinner," the Spaniard said to Turkish newspaper Bugun.