Spain's 'secret weapon' Diego Costa destined to be a Chelsea great

Apart from dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s,” and barring any unexpected 11th hour hitches, Diego Costa will sign for Chelsea after the 2014 World Cup in a reported £32million deal.

Chelsea fans saw at first hand during their Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid the physicality that Costa brings to the centre forward role, but the word on the street is that they remain to be convinced.

Although it doesn’t sit easily with Blues fans at this stage, it’s easy to draw comparisons to another Chelsea favourite Didier Drogba, and the naturalized Spaniard certainly has the skill-set required to make a success of life in the Premier League.

Opposition defenders are certainly not going to get a moments piece when Costa is on the pitch. A player who offers much more than brute strength and the robust nature that you would normally associate with a bustling centre forward.

Costa scores goals. Lots of goals.

In the race for the European Golden Shoe, he finished just one goal behind Lionel Messi and four behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. Zlatan Ibrahimovic found himself a goal behind Atletico Madrid’s target man.

Conservative estimates put Suarez value at £70m, Ronaldo at £85-£100m and Messi at £160m. With other players also changing hands for astronomical sums, a £32m spend starts to look like a bargain.

Across the entirety of last season Costa’s other numbers stack up well too.

Last season he created 45 chances (Ronaldo had 47), had 94 shots, of which 54 were on target which equates to 58 per cent shooting accuracy. Not bad if you consider Suarez’s was 53 per cent (via Squawka).

His passing accuracy of 76 per cent is again better than Suarez and only slightly behind Ronaldo’s 80 per cent. In any event, the primary function of a striker is to score goals, not necessarily to create and therefore those numbers hint at what a sound purchase Chelsea are about to make.

It’s very rare that a player of such talent comes onto the market, especially at the right price and the right age. At just 25, Costa is still to reach his prime as a footballer and is younger than Messi, Ronaldo, Ibra and Suarez.

Like Drogba, Costa is adept at leading the line and bringing others into the fold.Whether he receives the ball with his back to goal or via a ball played in behind, to feet or aerially, centrally or down either channel, you can always bet on him to make the right decision.

That kind of in-game intelligence speaks for itself and it’s the quality in his all-round game that has piqued the interest of Vicente Del Bosque enough to make him a member of his 23-man Spanish World Cup squad in Brazil.

The Marquis is no fool and his record as Spain manager attests to that. Surely that has assured Chelsea fans that are still harbouring doubts over their new striking acquisition?!

Still need convincing?

Drogba’s best season at Chelsea by far was in 2009-10 when he scored 37 goals in 44 games in all competitions. Costa has just come of off the back of a season where he scored 35 in 43 appearances. And he’s only going to get better.

Too good to be true? Not at all.

Spanish football TV rights are heavily stacked in favour of Barcelona and Real Madrid, who take the lions share of revenue. Even Atleti, despite their rise over the last few seasons, are forced to feed on the scraps left behind.

That, and a desire to have a self-sustaining transfer policy, is precisely why the likes of Torres, Aguero, Forlan and Falcao have trodden the same path.

Make no mistake, Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho have played an absolute blinder in persuading Costa to leave the La Liga champions. He is the real deal, and if he stays injury free, he will fire Chelsea to Champions League glory again.

*Jason Pettigrove is a freelance FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and La Liga correspondent for @YahooSportsME as well as a number of other print/digital media. Follow him @jasonpettigrove