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Chelsea's Diego Costa open to idea of Ligue 1 move with Marseille

Diego Costa has said he would be tempted to join Marseille should he leave Chelsea, while teammate N'Golo Kante could already have been at the Ligue 1 club.

Costa still has more than two years left on the five-season deal he signed when he moved to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in 2014, but there has been regular speculation over his future.

Speaking to Telefoot, the Spain international forward, who has scored 17 times in 26 top-flight appearances for the Premier League leaders this season, said he would be interested in playing in Ligue 1.

"It's true Marseille has a great project and is growing," Costa said referring to the ambitious plans put in place by OM's new American owner Frank McCourt.

"Ligue 1 is developing. I'm very happy at Chelsea, but anything can happen in football. And if I need to change, France is somewhere I have never gone and never played. So why not?"

Meanwhile, Kante was already offered a move to Marseille when he was set to leave Caen in summer 2015. Both Marseille and Leicester City made offers for the midfielder, but with OM's bid falling short of what was required by his club, Kante opted for Leicester.

"The clubs that wanted me most, made offers, were Leicester and Marseille," the France international told Canal+.

"At the start, for my career, I wanted to take a step up to a big club in France. I recalled generations with [Mamadou] Niang, [Franck] Ribery, you saw them in the Champions League, it was a team I liked. But the two clubs could not agree [a fee], and I didn't want to kick up a fuss.

"I said to myself it could be good to get into a Premier League club, have a foot in the Premier League. There are no regrets, it was really a great year."