Cholo hoping for Griezmann-Costa pairing amid transfer talk

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."

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."