Diego Simeone praises Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has lavished praise on leading scorer Diego Costa.

The Spanish international netted his 33rd goal of the season in Saturday's 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao, with that result seeing Simeone's side return to the top of La Liga.

"He's a guy who keeps growing day by day, he has an enormous physical strength. He infects his teammates with this thing he has and they exploit it in the best possible way," Simeone told reporters.

Chelsea are understood to lead the race for the £30m-rated forward.