Chelsea remain keen on signing Joao Felix on a permanent deal despite his loan move having been largely unsuccessful to date, it has been revealed.
The Portuguese attacker arrived from Atletico Madrid on a six month loan in January, with the Blues paying £14m for the deal.
Sent off in his first game for the club, Felix has scored just twice in 10 outings so far under three managers, though he has shown plenty of fancy footwork to get fans off their seats.
But, despite the side struggling and currently marooned in 11th place, and having scored the seventh fewest goals in the top flight, it has been reported that the club still want to make the loan deal permanent this summer should the opportunity arise.
It is believed that any deal for the 23-year-old would set them back between £80m and £100m, and would be further hefty investment from Todd Boehly and co. a year on from when they initially took over the club.
As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Blues ‘want to keep Felix as a part of their long-term project’, while the club are ‘very happy with his impact’.
The Frenchman has already been signed from RB Leipzig, and will make the switch to west London this summer. Though a more direct player than Felix, they broadly play in the same position, as does Kai Havertz, in that they prefer to operate as a second striker before a more recognised frontline option.
With a midfield and attack to reconstruct, having two world class talents fighting it out for one spot on the pitch may not be the best use of Chelsea’s limited resources.
