Chelsea transfer news: Atletico Madrid alter demands for permanent Joao Felix deal as Boehly conjures plan

Joao Felix might not cost Chelsea as much as initially expected to sign permanently from Atletico Madrid in the summer, according to a report.

Felix arrived on loan at Chelsea during the January transfer window after falling out of favour for Atletico. His time in the Premier League did not get off to the best of starts due to a red card on his debut.

However, the attacker is now back in action after his suspension. He got his first Chelsea goal in their draw with West Ham over the weekend, on just his second appearance.

Hence, the attention can once again turn to Felix’s contributions on the pitch. In the bigger picture, Chelsea will be wondering about the chances of a permanent deal.

Felix is under contract with Atletico until 2027. Yet his long-term future might actually still be with Chelsea if all goes to plan.

According to Relevo, Atletico have now lowered their asking price for a permanent sale of Felix. In January, they quoted Chelsea a figure between €130million (£115m) and €140m (£123m).

Now, though, they are only going to ask for something just above €100m (£88m). After all, Chelsea have already made a contribution by paying €11.5m (£10.1m) just for the loan arrangement.

Hence, no matter how Atletico present it, Chelsea won’t be getting too much of a discount on Felix. But something is better than nothing.

Besides, Felix has also been linked with some other clubs, including ones who are Atletico’s rivals in La Liga. Therefore, the Mattress Makers might prefer to sell him to Chelsea if his time at Estadio Metropolitano is up.

Joao Felix agent on good terms with Chelsea owner Todd Boehly

Negotiations can be expected as the summer approaches. The report notes that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly – who certainly hasn’t been afraid to spend in the transfer market since assuming control of the club last year – has a good relationship with Felix’s agent, Jorge Mendes.

Indeed, Mendes helped Chelsea break the British transfer record by signing Enzo Fernandez from Felix’s former club Benfica in January. Perhaps the representative could orchestrate another big Chelsea move in 2023.

Soon, Felix could convert his move to Chelsea into a permanent arrangement. But he will have to continue proving himself on the pitch before anything like that materialises.

Across his Atletico career, which began in 2019 after another big-money move, Felix contributed 34 goals from 131 appearances. Still only 23 years old, he has plenty of time to get back on track after a recent downturn in fortunes.

It should all start from his six-month stint with Chelsea. If he can find some consistent form there, he might be someone the Blues want to keep around.

And getting that to happen might be within reach for the free-spending side – or at least more so than they thought last month.

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