Liverpool in for £21.8mil Diego Costa

It was just earlier today that the News Desk reported on Brendan Rodgers wanting to add quality, not quantity to his Liverpool side before the close of the transfer window and we’ve got screaming fax machines around here with word that he’s trying to do just that with an audacious £21.8mil bid for Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa.

The Brazil international, who lit up La Liga with 20 goals last term, is looking like he’s on the outs at the Vicente Calderon after the other team from the Spanish capital snatched up David Villa and Léo Baptistão in the wake of top scorer Radamel Falcao joining big money French side Monaco. The Reds, who remain uncertain on the future of Luis Suarez, are believed to have triggered a release clause in the 24-year olds contract and are currently awaiting a response. Although the Liverpool hierarchy refuses to comment on the ongoing negotiations, Managing Director Ian Ayre has insisted that the Anfield club still has no intention of offloading the Uruguayan – though this was before word that they’d be going all out to snatch up Costa.

It’s been said that one of the reasons behind Suarez’s wandering eye is the quality of the recruits Rodgers has brought in this summer and their perceived inability to bolster the Reds charge for a Champions League spot this term, and if that’s the case, signing up a player of Costa’s caliber would certainly give him reasons to ponder a layover on Merseyside; not only that, but it would reaffirm previous statements made by Rodgers where he promised quality, first team signings. With the ball now firmly in the hands of Atlético Madrid, millions of Liverpool fans worldwide will be frantically hitting the refresh button on their internet browsers while simultaneously arguing whether or not the Brazilian will sanction a move to Anfield. More on this as it inevitably develops…