Chelsea submit £42m bid for 9-goal striker likened to Diego Costa- Enzo Maresca wants him

Chelsea have tested Atletico Madrid by reportedly offering £42 million for striker Samu Omorodion, but they were firmly turned away, with the Spanish club reportedly looking for £70 million.

The Sun reports that Omorodion’s style of play is similar to former Spanish forward Diego Costa, who ironically played for both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea in his prime. The report further confirms that Chelsea did have a £42 million bid for him rejected this week.

The Blues have been on the hunt for a striker, having held talks this summer with Newcastle and Aston Villa over Alexander Isak and Jhon Duran, respectively. They first targeted Napoli’s Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen but were priced out, with the Italian club holding out for a fee above £100 million.

Chelsea were then handed a further blow when Red Bull Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko decided against a move and signed a new deal to stay in the Bundesliga. Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke was also briefly mentioned before being quickly dismissed.

Since then, Chelsea have been keen to get a deal done for Omorodion, who scored nine goals at Alaves, helping them avoid relegation before returning to his parent squad. Aged just 20, he fits the profile that Chelsea have been looking at and aim to offer him a long-term deal once they can agree on a fee and personal terms.

LondonWorld has been told new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has made it clear that he wants another striker to give Nicolas Jackson competition as well as to have a variety of options to play the attacking brand of football he wants to bring to Stamford Bridge.

Armando Broja is still at the club after returning from a loan at Fulham, as well as Christopher Nkunku, who suffered an injury for large parts of last season but is very prolific as a striker too.

Chelsea will have players returning for pre-season after the new boss began work this week.