Chelsea looking to swap FLOPS to seal permanent Felix transfer

Suraj Radia

• 9 May 2023 12:46 BST
• 2 min read

Chelsea could negotiate a swap deal with Atletico Madrid to sign Joao Felix permanently as they prepare plans for incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino is expected to be named as Chelsea’s new manager having held talks with the club in recent weeks and the Blues want to present a clear picture of the transfer possibilities he may have upon his arrival.

Chelsea are keen to keep hold of Joao Felix despite the 23-year-old netting just three goals in 17 games so far, however they are reluctant to meet Atletico’s asking price.

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Diego Simeone’s side are hoping to recoup as much as possible of the €126 million they spent on Felix in 2019 and they have quoted Chelsea €100m for the Portuguese international.

Atletico are also open to another loan spell but they will demand a further €18m for such a deal, with Chelsea already having paid €11m to bring Felix to the club in January.

As a result, Chelsea have expressed a desire to reduce Felix’s asking price through swap deals, according to the Evening Standard, with Atletico interested in both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marc Cucurella.

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Aubameyang is expected to leave Chelsea, having barely featured since joining the Blues on deadline day last summer, with former club Barcelona also keen on bringing him back to Spain.

Cucurella also only joined Chelsea last summer for €65m but he has struggled for form in his debut year and has not featured in the last three games under Frank Lampard.

REVEALED: Pochettino wants three signings at Chelsea this summer

Felix is understood to have no future at Atletico after falling out with Simeone and the forward hinted towards his desire to stay at Chelsea by emphatically pointing to his shirt after scoring in their last game against Bournemouth.

Pochettino, meanwhile, has been told that Chelsea’s focus this summer will be on shrinking down their squad of 32 players instead of the spending spree which has seen owner Todd Boehly spend more than €600m in under a year at the club.