Atletico Madrid want Diego Costa to end Chelsea exile by returning from Brazil to help seal January transfer

• e-mail

Atletico Madrid remain confident of sealing a deal for castaway Diego Costa in the next month — but the Spanish club will encourage the striker to make his peace with Chelsea and help the transfer over the line.

Atletico and Chelsea were locked in talks through the final week of the transfer window but a breakthrough was still to be reached before the deadline passed in Spain on Friday evening.

Atletico are under a transfer embargo until January, so Costa would be unable to play for Diego Simeone's team anyway until the turn of the year. So while Atletico have time on their side, they do want Costa to be training with the team and getting himself match-fit before the next round of international matches in October.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa is still in Brazil and spent the weekend playing beach football

Costa has been encouraged by Atletico Madrid to make peace with his current employers

Chelsea want more than £50million, while Atletico are offering closer to £40m. Atletico sense that Chelsea's resolve has been stiffened by Costa's very public feud with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and there was concern in Spain on Friday night when it emerged that Costa has been registered to play in the Premier League.

Atletico would now like Costa to leave his Brazilian hometown of Lagarto, where he has taken refuge this summer, and thrash matters out with Chelsea. In an ideal world, this might even extend to a private and public apology but at the very least a reconciliation will be encouraged. 

Yet it is not certain that Costa will swallow his pride and seek forgiveness. The Spain forward is insistent that Chelsea are in the wrong and that Conte destroyed their relationship when the manager sent a blunt text message to inform him that he would not figure in his plans for this season. 

Costa alleged in an interview with the Daily Mail that Conte ended his Chelsea career with the text, that the club are treating him 'like a criminal' and that he would be isolated from the squad and forced to train with the reserves if he returns. 

Conte, for his part, has repeatedly stated that Costa is 'in the past' for Chelsea. Chelsea, by contrast, insist that Costa has been aware since January that a summer move was likely. It remains to be seen whether Costa will relax his position. 

Costa needs to be training to get match-fit before the next round of international matches

The Spaniard is still pictured with the Premier League trophy outside of Stamford Bridge

However, Atletico hope Costa can smooth matters over for the sake of the transfer and to salvage his personal World Cup aspirations ahead of next year's tournament in Russia. 

Costa was left out of Spain's World Cup qualifiers this week and some teammates believe he could have done more to ensure he was sufficiently fit to be there. Costa is working with a personal trainer every day in Lagarto but he is unlikely to be match-fit. In light of Conte's public statements, the decision to register Costa in the club's Premier League squad was unexpected. 

Yet rather than paving the way for Costa's reintegration, the suspicion is that Chelsea have made a canny move as the player continues to contemplate legal action against the club. 

Costa has argued that the club has not provided the working conditions for him to return to Stamford Bridge as a senior professional due to the nature of Conte's text and the threat of having to train with the youth team. 

Atletico Madrid were continuing to negotiate a deal for Costa on transfer deadline day

The striker has refused to return to training after a major fallout with Antonio Conte

Costa continues to be fined for his absence. While Conte remains dismissive in press conferences about his striker, the club have made contrasting noises. 

They have issued Costa with orders to return to London as soon as possible, train, get match-fit and put himself in contention for the first team. 

This four-point demand puts the club on a collision course with Conte. Equally, the decision to register Costa allows the club to provide the impression that he is welcome to return. 

However, this does not directly impact Conte's plans since a club may name 25 senior professionals in their Premier League squad but, even including Costa, the Chelsea list is thin on numbers and there are only 21 registered. 

So there was no need for a senior player to drop out to make space for Costa in the squad.  

Antonio Conte has repeatedly said this summer Costa is not in his plans for the new season