Chelsea have ‘put the accelerator on’ talks for João Félix, who is keen to return to London from Atlético Madrid this summer.
That’s according to Sport, who say ‘all roads lead to London’ for the Portuguese forward and Chelsea want him signed as soon as possible.
The newspaper reports that negotiations between Chelsea and Atlético Madrid are progressing well and super-agent Jorge Mendes is now ‘leading the operation’ to get the player back to Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis.
Aston Villa and Benfica had been the sides who were best positioned to sign Félix in this window, but it is now Chelsea who have moved after the deal for Samu Omorodion collapsed.
They’re ‘leading the race’ for the forward and are considered the only team who can match his €50m asking price.
Félix would welcome returning to London after his loan spell at Chelsea in 2023 and the two clubs, plus Mendes, are now working on a deal to make that happen. Any transfer will be independent from the operation involving Conor Gallagher.
Chelsea need to finalise an exit before they can move definitively, with Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke on the chopping block at this moment in time. Selling either player would give them the funds to finalise the deal for Félix.
The belief is that the operation will advance in the coming days, with Félix waiting in Madrid to fly out and seal an exit once again.
