Wolves boss Bruno Lage has admitted that Diego Costa is not yet ready to feature in the Premier League following his arrival at Molineux.
Costa moved to the Midlands last week having spent eight months out of the game after leaving Atlético Mineiro in January. The 33-year-old has initially signed a contract until the end of the season, with memories still fresh of his first spell in England.
That came at Chelsea where he scored 59 goals in 120 games, winning two Premier League titles in the process. His time at Stamford Bridge ended acrimoniously after a falling out with then Blues boss Antonio Conte, but Wolves fans will hope that he can recapture his terrific form.
But Lage has issued a warning that the striker is not yet ready to play for the club, despite his lack of options up-front. Instead, the Wolves boss predicted Costa will not feature for at least a fortnight.
"He cannot be involved. He’s not ready to compete at this level. He’s fit. He can be very important for us. But he’s not ready to compete at this level," Lage told BT Sport ahead of his side's defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
"He hasn’t trained with the team all week. It will take time. He will start working with the team. I hope in two weeks he can be a solution from the bench."
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With Costa in the stands, Wolves suffered a heavy defeat at Molineux to the reigning champions. Jack Grealish put the visitors ahead just 55 seconds into the game before Erling Haaland doubled their lead with a long-range effort 15 minutes later.
The hosts' hopes of a turnaround were all but ended 12 minutes before half-time when Nathan Collins was sent off for a dreadful tackle on Grealish. City comfortably saw out the win, with Phil Foden adding a third goal 21 minutes from time.
With his side having scored just three goals in the Premier League so far, Lage will be hoping Costa can inspire a turnaround up top. The Wolves boss certainly believes that Costa has what it takes to make his men more potent.
"We know he needs time to be ready. He is fit and doesn’t have any problems, but he needs time to be fit to compete at this level. He said it’s destiny," Lage said when Costa's arrival in Wolverhampton was confirmed.
"I want him ready to compete at this level and I think we can bring the real Diego Costa to us. We need a reference in the box, a guy to compete with Raul (Jimenez) and Diego has the profile that we like, different to Raul.”
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has insisted it is crucial that Costa gets up to speed quickly. Lage's men are slipping dangerously towards the relegation zone, but Ferdinand is confident Costa can bring a new face to their game.
"It all depends. If he comes in and scores a goal, confidence is up. He can be really impactive in a game for 45 minutes. The way he plays, he’s aggressive, he gets amongst people, he has to play with emotion and he wants to get under the skin of defenders," he told BT Sport.
"With him I think it’ll be very much about goals. Getting goals, getting confidence, then he’ll motor on from there. It’s vitally important for this Wolves squad that he does hit the ground running."
