Chelsea set to pay fee as Felix chase reaches final stretch

Chelsea have reached the final stages of their pursuit for Joao Felix, according to reports.

The attacker has been linked to the La Liga club for the past week, in what’s been an overall complicated saga between Atletico and Chelsea.

Conor Gallagher was set to move to Atletico for €40m, but he is now back training with the Under-21s with the Blues. Meanwhile, Samu Omorodion’s move, the other way to Chelsea, collapsed. Felix was thrown into the mix too, but that has its issues.

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But now we’re into the final stages, according to journalist Ruben Uria. He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Final stretch of the Joao Félix-Conor Gallagher negotiation. Atleti will receive a fixed 50 M € + 5 M in bonuses and variables for Joao. Chelsea will receive a fixed 42 M € for Gallagher and get a salary margin for his sale. The operation is now very close to completion.

“The deal is not yet closed, but Chelsea gains salary margin by transferring a youth player. And Atleti meets the outstanding amortization for Jõao Félix and makes several M € profit. Mendes close to fixing what he is trying to fix what he messed up with Samu.”

New Felix talks this weekend

Felix spent six months on loan at Stamford Bridge in 2023 and he is open to returning to west London this summer. Movement could even happen this week, with Atletico Madrid and Chelsea set to hold a new round of talks according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.

READ MORE: Winners and losers of Victor Osimhen joining Chelsea

Chelsea’s opening Premier League match against Manchester City on Sunday, Blues boss Enzo Maresca was asked for an update on Gallagher.

“Conor is back in training at this moment a bit apart [from the first-team squad],” Maresca admitted.

“He is having medical tests and he is trying to find a solution [to move to Atletico], so we will see what happens. Hopefully, for Conor and the club, everyone will be happy.”

Maresca was then asked about Felix and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, who has also been heavily linked with a summer move to Chelsea.

“They are not our players, so it would not be correct to speak about the Atletico player or the Napoli player,” Maresca replied. “The club knows exactly what I think in case we need to do something. At the end of the transfer window, we can bring some players.”