Guillem Balague Claims Chelsea Ready to Sell Costa to Atletico and Are Nearing Deal for Higuain

Chelsea could be set to have a complete change in their offensive line over the summer, with Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague claiming that striker Diego Costa is set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer to be replaced by former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain.

Balague wrote in his column for ​AS that the Spain international wants to leave England in the summer despite his relative success on the pitch - scoring 36 goals in 78 games for the Blues in all competitions since arriving from Atletico Madrid almost two years ago.

Reports claim Atletico is at the forefront of the chase to sign him, too. Costa is said to be fed up with England, having failed to learn the language as well as he would have liked - and has had enough of being branded a villain by opposition fans and the media due to his aggressive style of play.

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Balague writes that Chelsea are trying to keep up a facade of normality by placing Costa prominently in their new kit marketing campaigns, but claims that a move back to Atletico is likely. Diego Simeone is also keen to have the forward back in the fold at the Calderon.

Gonzalo Higuain is named as the Spain international's likely replacement, having posted an impressive scoring rate of 68 goals in 103 league games for Napoli since his move from Spain in 2013.

Higuain has scored 33 from 34 games in Serie A this season, attracting interest from a number of big-name clubs. Balague claims that the striker would be available for €48m, with Chelsea recouping around €30m from the sale of Costa - despite Napoli's president saying recently that the club would want around €90m for the Argentine.