Gremio president confirms interest in taking Douglas Costa back to Brazil

On-loan Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa could be in line for a return to South America, after Gremio president Romildo Bolzan claimed the club are in talks over a potential move.

The 30-year-old is currently on loan at the Allianz Arena from Juventus, but the Bundesliga leaders have made it clear they have no intention of signing him permanently.

Costa began his career at Gremio, spending six years with the club's academy before making his first team debut in 2008 as a teenager. He would make 30 appearances for the club in total, before opting to further his career in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk.

If Gremio's president is to be believed, Costa could be heading back to the club after a decade away, having failed to impress at Bayern during his season-long loan spell. Speaking to Radio Bandeirantes (via Football Italia), Bolzan Junior said: "We are trying to understand how to do it. We have people talking to his agent."

While Bolzan Junior's words confirm Gremio's interest, there is likely to be some way to go in negotiations - and, most likely, an abundance of financial hurdles to overcome.

Costa may only have a year left on his Juventus contract, but he's not on short change wages - and many clubs around the world are feeling the pinch in their pockets because of lost revenues brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Juve are thought to want around €10m, and Gremio, if they have it, will need to stump up the cash by May 23 before the transfer window slams shut in Brazil.

That's not to say a deal can't be done for Costa, whose departure from Gremio to Shakhtar in 2010 pocketed the club a reported £7.2m. Five-and-a-half years and 202 appearances later, he was on the move again to join Bayern for the first time - signing a five-year contract in a deal worth around £27m.

Costa played 77 games under Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti before he was shipped out to Juventus on loan for the 2017/18 season. After doing well with the Serie A champions, I Bianconeri opted to make the move permanent - only to loan him back to Bayern at the beginning of the 2020/21 season.

Injuries have hampered his progress though, and he's featured just 11 times in the Bundesliga to date.