Official: Diego Costa completes Wolves transfer
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 4 Jan 2023 08:35 GMT
- 3 min read
Wolves have announced that they have signed former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa on a free transfer.
The 33-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Premier League outfit, having been available on a free transfer.
The deal comes in the wake of injuries to forward players Raul Jimenez and Sasa Kalajdzic at Wolves, with the former Stuttgart man having suffered a serious knee issue just minutes into his debut.
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Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Diego Costa to Wolves, and back to the Premier League.
“A serial winner with a wealth of experience at the highest level, Diego will bring something unique to our dressing room and on the pitch, and we look forward to his impact at Molineux and Compton this season.”
How can Wolves sign Diego Costa outside the transfer window?
Costa has been a free agent since leaving Atletico Mineiro in January after only playing 19 times for the Brazilian club. He had been expected to remain there until December 2022.
As a free agent, though, he was free to sign for any club outside of the transfer window and has taken advantage of this loophole to sign a one-year deal with Wolves in their hour of need.
Costa was last active in the Premier League with Chelsea during a three-year stint with the club between 2014 and 2017. During that time, he earned a reputation as a hard-nosed forward with a keen eye for goal. Indeed, he netted 52 times in 89 top-flight games for the Blues before being frozen out by Antonio Conte.
From there, he moved to Atletico Madrid, where he had previously emerged as a forward emblematic of Diego Simeone's style.
Now back at Wolves, Costa will face questions over his ability to compete at the highest level after months out of the game. Nevertheless, the Premier League side have seen him as the best option open to them in this time of crisis.
