Diego Costa is back in the Premier League as his move to Wolves has been confirmed.
That sound you can hear is Premier League defenders shuddering at the thought of Costa causing a nuisance.
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Costa, 33, was a free agent and has signed a one-year contract with Wolves to help ease their lack of options up top following a serious injury to summer signing Sasa Kalajdzic on his debut, while Raul Jimenez continues to struggle with injury concerns.
The return of Costa to the Premier League (he scored 52 goals in 89 games the first time around) is sure to be appointment viewing and he seems delighted to be back in England.
Experienced striker ready to prove he’s still got it
“I always thought that the Premier League was the best out there, the best in the world. I had the pleasure to play in it, return again and in my opinion, from experience, the league has the atmosphere, the way the game is played, the stadiums full of supporters, the pitch in perfect condition, the respect that players have for each other,” Costa said. “I did think if I would be able to do it, if I was physically and mentally ready for this new challenge – a difficult one, that I know for sure – but mentally, I’m fine. On a physical and psychological level, I will need two to three weeks to get back in shape but that’s normal since I haven’t done much for a while but I know that I can do it.
“If I ever doubted my potential because of what I’ve done – and thank God I’ve had a fulfilling career – and I didn’t have anything left to give, I wouldn’t have accepted this challenge because I have a team to care for and if I said yes to this, it’s because I think that I can bring something to the table.”
Costa also revealed that he spoke with current Wolves boss Bruno Lage at length about his current fitness levels, how he would slot into the team and revealed he asked the Wolves boss not to throw him in right away.
“But when he [Bruno Lage] told me about returning to the Premier League since this a championship I have related to quite a bit, always liked it and followed. No matter how much I enjoyed playing in Madrid, I felt discouraged, but this motivated me. It lit that fire within me,” Costa said.
Costa having the fire lit within him puts the fear of god into me. And I won’t have to play against him. And his announcement video was pretty epic too.
It's official. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/FXcgReSlsr
— Wolves (@Wolves) September 12, 2022
Is this a good move for Costa and Wolves?
The former Atletico Madrid striker proved a decent signing for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil last year, as he scored five goals in 19 appearances and helped them win the Brazilian top-flight and cup in 2021, but Costa left Mineiro by mutual consent in January and has been waiting for the right opportunity to return to the game.
Of course, he isn’t the same player he was in his prime at Chelsea back in 2014-17 when he helped them win two Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but he’s still a handful, as his recent spell at Atletico Madrid proved.
Injuries have caught up with him in recent years but as stop-gap solutions go, this is a no-brainer for Wolves who are nursing Jimenez back to full fitness and just saw new striker Kalajdzic suffer an ACL injury less than 45 minutes into his debut.
Wolves haven’t had a clinical finisher over the last few seasons due to Jimenez’s injury problems and the likes of Fabio Silva, Willian Jose and Patrick Cutrone just haven’t worked out.
This could go one or two ways for Costa at Wolves: 1) he will deliver the finishing touches to all of the chances they create and become a hero or 2) his body won’t be able to keep up with the rigors of the PL.
Whatever happens, this will not be uneventful.