Chelsea pursuing permanent deal for Joao Felix
Chelsea are looking to turn Joao Felix's loan from Atletico Madrid into a permanent deal, 90min can confirm.
Felix joined on an expensive six-month loan during January, with the Blues paying up to £16m in both loan fees and wages for the 23-year-old and agreeing to a contract which does not include an option to buy.
Felix's stint in London got off to a nightmare start after he was sent off on his debut, sitting out three games before making a long-awaited return to the team with a goalscoring performance against West Ham.
Despite his limited minutes, Felix has already proven to be hugely impactful for Chelsea and fans have already grown attached to the Portugal international. Sources have now confirmed to 90min that the Blues have been equally as impressed.
Negotiations have already been held between Chelsea and Atletico over a possible permanent deal for Felix, who recently hinted that he would be open to staying at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer.
On this edition of Son of Chelsea, part of the 90min podcast network, Daniel Childs discusses transfer links to Ivan Toney and Jude Bellingham, and the recent booing of summer signing Marc Cucurella.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
One concern for Chelsea is the potential cost of the deal. In January, Atletico were looking to recover as much of the £120m they paid to sign Felix as possible, with none of his numerous suitors prepared to agree to that sum.
If Chelsea can negotiate a discount, the Blues would be willing to strike a deal for Felix as part of what could be another expensive summer.
Christopher Nkunku has already agreed to join from RB Leipzig at the end of the season, while Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is understood to be Chelsea's top striker target for the summer after his prolific campaign in Serie A.
Chelsea are also among the clubs to have been offered the chance to sign PSG forward Neymar, whose future was discussed during a recent meeting between Blues co-owner Todd Boehly and Parisian counterpart Nasser Al-Khelaifi.