Simeone will fight to keep Courtois and Costa despite Chelsea interest

Atletico Madrid will fight to keep their best players this summer and hope their allegiance to the team and to their coach Diego Simeone will help ensure they stay.

Chelsea loanee Thibaut Courtois spoke as if he wants to stay after the defeat by Real Madrid but it  is largely out of Atletico’s hands.

‘I don’t have an emotional link to Chelsea,’ said Courtois, 22. ‘I have nothing against them. It is just that I have this bond with Atletico after all I have lived through with the club these last three seasons.

Emotional: Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says he has no 'emotional link' to his parent club Chelsea

Target: The Blues are also chasing Diego Costa but Atletico are hoping the pair stay loyal to Diego Simeone

Leader: The Atletico players are hugely fond of their fiery Argentine manager Diego Simeone

‘If I have to go back to Chelsea just to play FA Cup and League Cup games, I will have to look for a solution.’

Atletico’s chief executive, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, has meanwhile told striker Diego Costa the club will only sell him if he wants to leave. Gil said: ‘We’ll try and make sure that all of the relevant players stay here. We’ve made a very aggressive approach for Diego to stay and we want to keep this dream going but it all depends on him.

‘Our intention is not to sell anyone unless the player asks to be sold. Because of our run in the Champions League we have the money to mean we don’t have to sell.’

Wanted: Koke (above) and Filipe Luis (below) are also attracting interest from the Premier League

Midfielder Koke and left back Filipe Luis will be other Premier League targets. But Koke’s allegiance to the club he has always supported and Filipe Luis’s loyalty to Simeone could see both stay.

Simeone said: ‘We will rest a bit, watch the World Cup and then we will be back to defend our league title.’