Chelsea will meet with Atletico Madrid in the coming weeks to discuss the signing of Joao Felix, according to AS. The Blues want to keep the attacker permanently.
The Portuguese international has impressed despite playing for a poor Chelsea team this campaign.
He has been their best-performing attacker since joining the club on a six-month loan in January.
Felix has brought exciting dribbling and creativity to the attacking line. He has scored twice and created one big chance in ten Premier League appearances.
The 23-year-old is happy and enjoying his football in London, and the club wants to keep him too. They see him as one of the cornerstones of their project going forward.
Even with the hiring of a permanent manager in mind, the club is pushing for Felix. They believe he will be a solid addition for Luis Enrique or Julian Nagelsmann, their top managerial targets.
In 2019, Atletico Madrid parted with a record €127 million to sign Felix from Benfica after one season in the top flight.
He struggled to adapt in Spain, with coach Diego Simeone preferring other stars to him.
Also, injuries did not help his adaptation to his new environment.
Over time, as the player struggled to get game time, he fell out with Simeone. It came to a head-on after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Felix made it clear he wanted to leave to find game time. Chelsea and Arsenal showed interest in the attacker, but the Blues got him, paying €11 million to take him for six months.
Chelsea owners have been impressed with his enthusiasm and want to meet with Atletico to discuss figures.
However, Los Colchoneros don’t want to sell the talented attacker for pennies and have set an €80 million price tag.
Chelsea have been spending recklessly since the arrival of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. It will be unsurprising if they fork out something around that figure to take Felix.
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