Bruno Lage feels that new Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diego Costa can rediscover his best form at Molineux.
As a result of a long-term injury to Sasa Kalajdzic, Wolves moved swiftly to secure the signing of former Chelsea man Costa on a free transfer.
The 33-year-old has been without a club throughout 2022, with the former Spain international's last competitive fixture coming for Atletico Mineiro at the back end of last year.
With that in mind, Lage has suggested that Costa will only feature on the substitutes' bench at best when Wolves face Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
Nevertheless, the Portuguese has talked up the arrival of the player, who he says he has been targeting since arriving at Wolves in June 2021.
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Speaking to reporters at a press conference, as quoted by Express & Star journalist Liam Keen, Lage said: "When I first came to Wolves I asked about Diego but he wanted to go back to his country.
"We are very happy with him but know he needs time to be ready. He is fit but he needs to be ready to compete at this level.
"It's destiny. 15 months ago I thought about him but we didn't have any chance. Lets see if it was meant to be. I think we can bring the old Costa, we need a reference in the box and he has that profile."
Lage also took the opportunity to provide an update on Kalajdzic, who sustained a serious knee injury on his debut against Southampton earlier this month.
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Speaking on the Austrian's recovery period, Lage added: "The operation was good. He is enthusiastic to recover, but in the same way it was very disappointing.
"I've been here 15 months and been asking for a striker with a different profile and he just played 45 minutes. With this kind of injury he'll be out at least six months and then it depends on him."
Raul Jimenez has been ruled out of Saturday's fixture with champions Man City due to a combination of muscle fatigue and a groin issue.
Goncalo Guedes or Hwang Hee-chan are expected to be used down the middle for the game at Molineux.
Darren Plant
