MADRID — Chelsea and Atletico Madrid announced Thursday that they had reached an initial agreement that would see Diego Costa return to the La Liga club.

“Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea have reached an initial agreement for the transfer of Diego Costa,” the Spanish side said in a statement.

“The agreement is pending the formalization of the contract between our club and the Spanish international forward.

“The English club has authorized Diego Costa to travel to Madrid in the coming days to undergo medical tests and settle his contract with our club.”

Chelsea said it had “agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa”.

“The transfer will be subject to the agreement of personal terms and a medical.”

Costa, 28, has been frozen out by Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and spent the transfer window angling for a return to former club Atletico that never materialized.

Both Marca and Mundo Deportivo newspapers earlier said the two clubs had sealed a deal for the Brazil-born forward’s return to Spain until 2021.

The deal was worth 60 million euros ($71.3m), according to AS, while Marca said Atletico will pay 55m euros with a further 10m euros in add-ons.

Costa will not, however, find himself straight back in action, with Atletico officially banned from signing new players until January.

Costa was not included in Chelsea’s 25-man squad for the Champions League group phase, ironically drawn in Group C along with Atletico. That ensured he would not become cup-tied and therefore remains free to play in the competition for another team in the second part of the season.

Benzema signs new deal

Real Madrid’s France forward Karim Benzema has signed a new contract at the club, which includes a one billion euro ($1.2 billion) buyout clause according to local media reports.

Spanish and European champions Real announced Wednesday that Benzema had signed a three-year extension to his current deal, which was due to expire at the end of next season, taking him through to 2021.

Benzema follows in the footsteps of teammates Marcelo, Isco and Dani Carvajal, who have all penned new deals over the past two weeks containing clauses designed to avoid a repeat of the Neymar situation experienced by Barcelona in the close season.

Benzema’s new deal means the forward, who is sidelined with a hamstring problem, is set to spend over a decade at Madrid, where he has been a regular first choice since joining in 2009.

He has made 247 Liga appearances for Real, netting 122 goals, and is the third-highest scorer currently active in the Champions League behind Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. — Agencies