Winners and losers of Joao Felix joining Chelsea

21 Aug 2024 13:00 BST
4 min read

Chelsea have officially signed Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix for a reported transfer fee of €50 million.

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The Portuguese international has signed a five-year contract with the Stamford Bridge outfit after completing his medical in west London.

Conor Gallagher has moved in the opposite direction for €42m, with Diego Simeone pushing to sign the England international following the collapse of Samu Omorodion’s move to Chelsea.

Felix spent the second half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan with the Blues and he now joins the club on a permanent deal.

The former Barcelona loanee becomes Chelsea’s 10th signing of the summer window following another busy few months of transfer activity from the west London club.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the winners and losers of Felix’s permanent move to Chelsea.

Winner - Atletico Madrid

There’s no escaping the fact that selling Felix to Chelsea is the best case scenario for Atletico Madrid.

The Portuguese forward has never suited Simeone’s style of play and he has spent the past 18 months out on loan.

Although they spent a whopping €1217.2m on him in 2019, selling Felix for €50m now is fantastic business and the fact they will receive Gallagher in exchange is great news.

The Englishman appears to be the perfect midfielder for Atleti and given the addition of Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, Felix simply wasn’t needed.

© IMAGO - Joao Felix is set to join Chelsea

Loser - Christopher Nkunku

Christopher Nkunku will be greatly affected by Felix’s arrival. The Frenchman’s debut campaign at Chelsea was plagued by injury and this season looked set to be one in which he thrived.

However, Felix plays in the exact same position as him (a false nine / number 10), meaning his game time will reduce.

Nkunku may still play a prevalent role this campaign, but Felix will be a nuisance regarding his place in Enzo Maresca’s first-choice starting XI.

Winner - Conor Gallagher

As mentioned earlier, Gallagher looks to be the ideal midfielder for a Simeone set-up.

He starred under Mauricio Pochettino last season and given his style of play was never going to thrive under Maresca, sealing a move to a European giant such as Atletico is huge for the 24-year-old.

Gallagher will also be playing Champions League football this season - unlike Chelsea - and he deserves a move to sunny Spain after how poorly he’s been treated by his boyhood club.

Loser - Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling is a slightly more obvious loser than Nkunku, although his position on the pitch is less impacted by Felix’s arrival.

© IMAGO - Raheem Sterling could leave Chelsea

Nevertheless, the ex-Man City winger looks to be heading towards the Chelsea exit door, with the Blues eager to offload him following the addition of Felix.

Sterling has suitors on the European stage, but he will likely be either forced to leave England or accept a bit-part role in west London.

Winner - Joao Felix

Felix himself is a massive beneficiary from his move to Chelsea.

The Portuguese international thoroughly enjoyed his time in the Premier League in 2023, and he will be relieved to finally depart Atletico Madrid on a permanent deal.

Felix’s career has stagnated since his move to Spain in 2019 and he will be given a relatively fresh start at Chelsea as he looks to rediscover the form he displayed at Benfica.

Loser - Chelsea’s academy players

In essence, Chelsea have sold a player who performed well last season (Gallagher) to sign Felix in return (a player who was fairly average on loan) just to book the transaction as ‘Pure Profit.’

That is hugely concerning for the club’s academy set-up and the young players currently at Cobham will be wary that they are now viewed as products rather than footballers.