Diego Costa Must Remain At Chelsea – Pedro

Chelsea forward Pedro Rodriguez says it would be a “big loss” for the club should Diego Costa leave to return to Atletico Madrid this summer.

Costa, 27, was a key player for Atletico as they won the 2013 Copa del Rey and 2013-14 La Liga titles but he opted to move to Chelsea two years ago.

The Spain international’s first season at Stamford Bridge brought a Premier League medal while scoring 20 goals in 26 appearances, but his second campaign was less successful for both the player and team.

Sources said in March that Costa was considering a summer exit and there has been mounting speculation in recent weeks that the striker could return to Vicente Calderon.

Fellow Spain international Pedro told Mundo Deportivo: “We do not know what will happen, but he would be a very big loss for us [at Chelsea]. We want him to stay, and we will see what happens with him.”

Costa was not chosen in the Spain squad for this summer’s Euro 2016 finals, with La Roja coach Vicente del Bosque saying the call was made due to fitness concerns.

However, Del Bosque did call up three Chelsea players — Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Cesar Azpilicueta — which means the Premier League side have more representatives in Spain’s 23-man Euro 2016 squad than Atletico or Real Madrid, who have two apiece.

Del Bosque told AS that the players were all selected on merit.

“In my opinion, really, there has been too much talk of this without any reason,” the coach said. “Chelsea did not have a good year, but I believe Cesc did have a good season. Azpilicueta had a good season, and Pedro is Pedro, a player who always does well with the national team.”