Simeone hoping to enjoy Griezmann-Costa partnership amid transfer speculation
Diego Simeone spoke about Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa following Atletico Madrid's 3-2 friendly win over Al Ahly.
Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone said he is hopeful Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa will play together for a "period" as doubts linger over his star French forward.
Spaniard Costa is set to complete his return to Atletico when the January transfer window opens having been unavailable for the first half of the season after signing from Chelsea amid the LaLiga club's transfer ban.
Griezmann, meanwhile, continues to be linked with Premier League giants Manchester United after resisting a lucrative move in August, while Barcelona have emerged as a possible destination.
Speaking after Atletico's 3-2 friendly win against Al Ahly in Alexandria Saturday, Simeone said: "We have worked hard to bring Griezmann and Costa and hopefully we keep him for a period."
A big thank you to all the fans in Egypt who showed us their love!December 30, 2017
Kevin Gameiro was the star for Atletico in Egypt, scoring a hat-trick as the Spanish side overturned a 2-0 deficit.
"He always creates chances and hopefully this will give him confidence especially now that he has more competition," Simeone said.
"It was a complete performance from us in both halves."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.