Reports in Italy claim Diego Costa had agreed a two-year contract with Bologna, only for Sinisa Mihajlovic to block the move.

Sportitalia transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà claims this evening that Costa was all set to make his Serie A debut at the Stadio Dall’Ara.

The contract would’ve been for two seasons, with wages worth €2.5m per year plus a signing-on bonus.

It was all set, the 32-year-old Spain international with Brazilian origins is a free agent after his Atletico Madrid contract expired in January.

However, it’s reported Bologna coach Mihajlovic pulled the plug on the whole idea, as he refused to bring Costa into the squad.

His first choice has always been and remains Marko Arnautovic, who is having difficulty terminating the contract with Shanghai SIPG by mutual consent so that he can join Bologna as a free agent.

It is not clear why Mihajlovic would be so against Costa, but the striker does have a history of clashing with coaches and teammates, above all at Chelsea with Antonio Conte.

Perhaps Mihajlovic also discussed it with his former Lazio teammate Diego Simeone, who was his coach at Atletico Madrid until January.

As for Costa, he has also been linked with a move to Besiktas, Olympique Marseille and Lille.