Massive Chelsea transfer risk leaves journalist ‘frightened’, as Romano explains why Barcelona snubbed star

An observer has questioned why Chelsea are placing their trust in Joao Felix after his hugely disappointing Atletico Madrid spell, while Fabrizio Romano has revealed why Barcelona did not look to re-sign the forward.

Felix is still only 24 years old but has already had an eventful career and played for some of the biggest clubs in the world. After breaking through at Benfica and showing brilliant potential, Felix landed at Atletico Madrid in July 2019 when the La Liga giants agreed to pay a huge sum for him.

The attacker, who generally plays just behind the main centre-forward or on the left wing, became Atleti’s record signing and the second most expensive teenager of all time when he moved to the Spanish capital in a stunning €126million (then £113m) deal.

The Portuguese was tipped to follow in Lionel Messi’s footsteps and potentially challenge for future Ballon d’Ors, but he has failed to live up to the hype at Atleti.

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Felix spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, while he was also loaned to Barcelona for the entirety of last season.

Atleti are finally on the verge of offloading Felix permanently as Chelsea have agreed to re-sign him.

Chelsea are due to pay Diego Simeone’s side €40-50m (£34.1-42.6m) for Felix, with the player already having undergone his Blues medical and penned a six-year contract.

The deal will also allow Atleti to finally capture Chelsea star Conor Gallagher, with the midfielder once again in Spain as he looks to finalise the switch.

Chelsea latest: Joao Felix has failed to become ‘new Messi’

While Felix impressed during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, it is still a big risk for Chelsea to pay so much for someone who has failed to reach his potential to date.

Plus, Chelsea already have Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Mykhailo Mudryk, all of whom play in similar positions to Felix.

Spanish journalist Emilio Perez de Rozas has now claimed that Chelsea’s signing of Felix is ‘frightening’.

“This story begins with Atletico Madrid presenting the ‘new Messi’ of the world,” he said.

“And now Atletico has managed to sell him for less than half of what he cost, and we consider it to be sensational management. This entire period is linked to Atletico Madrid.

“It is obvious that his performance is fundamentally to blame. In fact, if we look at it twice, it is frightening that someone of the level of Chelsea and its directors or coach believe that this boy can become the revelation of the Premier League.”

Romano, meanwhile, has explained that Barca’s pursuit of Dani Olmo saw them reject the opportunity to land Felix permanently.

“Joao Felix to Chelsea is a ‘here we go’ – it’s done, and it’s a permanent transfer, an investment of around €40m plus add-ons. Felix will sign a six-year deal at Chelsea plus the option for one further season,” Romano said.

“Felix is very happy to return to Chelsea, and when he found out about this opportunity he was more than excited – he always felt that Chelsea was the perfect place for him after a very good few months there on loan in the second half of the 2022-23 season.

Star delighted to secure Blues return

“Felix had a very good feeling at Chelsea but when Mauricio Pochettino arrived as manager he decided not to sign him permanently, so it was not the Chelsea board, but now that Pochettino is no longer at Chelsea, they will proceed to bring in Felix on a permanent transfer. He’s travelled to London for his medical tests, it will then take a bit of time to formally complete everything and then Felix will be unveiled as a new Chelsea player.

“One final point on Felix after he spent last season on loan at Barcelona as I’ve had some questions about why Barca didn’t keep him. In the end, they preferred to move for Dani Olmo, also because Atletico Madrid were only selling Felix this summer and not considering another loan.

“Deco is big fan of Olmo and decided to proceed with him as priority target, just a technical choice by the club. Felix is very happy to go to Chelsea, I can guarantee that.”

Jamie Carragher has also given his verdict on the Felix signing, slamming Chelsea and questioning why players continue to join their ranks.

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