Atletico Madrid have identified Olivier Giroud as the ideal replacement for Diego Costa, who left the club on Tuesday.

Los Rojiblancos boss Diego Simeone believes Giroud could be the man to do that job and is considering a move for the veteran Frenchman when the transfer window swings open at the start of January, reports Italian broadcaster Rai Sport, via Football365.

And, Mundo Deportivo adds that Atletico will attempt to sign Giroud in the January transfer window but are hoping to do business with a small cash offer.

That could be a bit hard considering Chelsea have spent over £200million in the summer and would look for a significant sum to balance the books.

But then again Atleti are banking on the Blues’ fear of losing their striker for free in the summer when his contract expires