Chelsea are in talks to sign Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix for £40 million plus add-ons.
If an agreement is reached, Chelsea will aim to revive the sale of Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid.
Felix spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Stamford Bridge, scoring four goals in 20 appearances for the Blues. The 24-year-old Portugal forward played for Barcelona last season following another loan move but has since returned to Atletico.
Chelsea will seek to strike a deal for Felix in the region of £40 million, a move that could enable Conor Gallagher to complete his transfer to Atletico Madrid.
Gallagher, also 24, was close to joining Atletico this summer and even travelled to Madrid. However, complications related to Samu Omorodion’s proposed transfer to Chelsea caused the deal to stall at the last minute.
The move depends on Atletico raising funds by selling either Omorodion or Felix, especially after their recent £81 million purchase of Julian Alvarez from Manchester City.
As a result, Gallagher returned to London with his future uncertain.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca commented before Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester City: “Conor is back. He is training separately [from the rest of the group].”
