Chelsea are exploring ways to keep Joao Felix at the club on a permanent basis with Atletico Madrid continuing to demand £88million for the forward.
Felix, 23, has spent the last four months at Stamford Bridge after joining on loan from Atletico in January, scoring three goals in 13 appearances so far.
While they failed to include an option-to-buy clause in his loan deal, Chelsea are seeking a permanent move for the Portugal star as they look to present incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino with a clear picture of the squad he will have at his disposal.
According to the Evening Standard, Atletico still value Felix at £88million four years after forking out £110million to prise him away from Benfica, leaving Blues chiefs to scramble for an alternative solution given their unprecedented £600million spend in 2022-23.
One potential option is a swap deal, with Atletico understood to be interested in both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marc Cucurella, who have endured miserable debut campaigns after joining last summer.
Todd Boehly (left) and his fellow Chelsea officials are exploring ways to keep Joao Felix (right) at the club permanently this summer
Atletico Madrid are demanding £88million for the Blues to sign Felix on a permanent basis
One potential option is a swap deal, with Atletico interested in both Marc Cucurella (left) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (right)
Offering Aubameyang and Cucurella, who cost Chelsea a combined £72million, as bait in a permanent transfer for Felix may therefore represent a good deal for all parties.
Nevertheless, Aubameyang has set his sights on a return to Barcelona after confirming as such over the weekend, while AC Milan are also circling.
Offloading Cucurella, meanwhile, would force Boehly to admit an expensive transfer mistake after paying £62million to sign him from Brighton just nine months ago.
Both players have drawn criticism for a series of abject performances this season, with Aubameyang falling out of favour after scoring three goals in 21 games and Cucurella even earning jeers from his own supporters during a difficult campaign.
Felix has instead shown glimpses of his breathtaking technical quality, meaning Chelsea are hoping to keep him around ahead of Pochettino’s arrival this summer.
The Benfica academy graduate, who scored in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth, is not keen on a return to Madrid given Diego Simeone is expected to remain in charge next season.
Yet according to Spanish publication AS, Atletico are not convinced they will find a suitor willing to meet their asking price, with his perceived lack of consistency and regular substitute appearances for the Blues coming as a concern. A source is quoted as telling the outlet: ‘He didn’t go to Chelsea for this’.
Super-agent Jorge Mendes will be heavily involved in attempting to keep his client at Chelsea, who also need to shift a number of players to balance the books.
Aubameyang has endured a miserable debut campaign at Chelsea, scoring just three goals
Cucurella has also failed to live up to expectations since sealing a £62m move from Brighton
Chelsea are beginning to draw up plans for next season ahead of the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino (pictured) as their new head coach
A swap deal that includes Aubameyang and Cucurella departing would help them significantly, while the likes of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher and Kalidou Koulibaly are also facing uncertain futures.
Chelsea are set to bring their managerial hunt to an end this week, with Pochettino the heavy favourite to take over, though Frank Lampard will remain in caretaker charge until the end of the season.
On Monday, Pochettino’s wife revealed she is in London ahead of his expected appointment at Stamford Bridge.
The Argentine’s partner, Karina, posted a view of some greenery on her Instagram story with the caption: ‘London,’ followed by a cloud emoji.
The Athletic state that the ‘comprehensive search’ carried out by Chelsea’s sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart for a new manager will end in the coming days.
source: dailymail.co.uk
