Former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is being lined up as a sensational addition at Championship outfit Birmingham City if Maxi Lopez's bid to buy the Blues is successful, according to The Mirror.

There's currently a battle to take the Midlands club out of the ownership of Hong Kong-based Birmingham Sports Holdings and Oriental Rainbow, with former Barcelona striker Lopez part of a consortium with local businessman Paul Richardson trying to secure a takeover.

Former Rangers director Donald Muir and ex-Watford chairman Laurence Bassini are both keen on buying the Blues as well, according to The Mirror, but if Lopez's team win the race then he wants to bring Costa to St. Andrew's.

Costa made his name at Atletico Madrid between 2010 and 2014 before securing a move to Premier League giants Chelsea, where he scored 52 times in 89 league outings before returning to Madrid.

Costa signed a deal until December 2022 back in August with Atletico Mineiro in his native Brazil, but the 33-year-old has been a free agent since January, having terminated his contract with the club.

And Lopez is believed to have added Costa to his list of potential additions to the squad should his consortium take over at Birmingham.

The Verdict

This particular rumour looks to be a bit pie in the sky.

Even though Lopez may have some kind of pull when it comes to South American players if he does take over at St. Andrew's, it's extremely hard to see Costa dropping to the Championship.

Whilst it's true that his career has tailed off somewhat in recent years, with his return to Atletico Madrid not being as productive as expected, a Costa with his head screwed on could almost certainly still play in a top league.

Nothing can ever be ruled out in football, but in this instance it would be a major shock to see him in the blue half of Birmingham next season.