Chelsea may have set up a way to lift the substantial funds necessitateed to re-sign Marc Guehi in January by selling a joiner once tipped for global stardom. Joao Felix fusecessitate for £45million in the summer from Atletico Madrid, with club academy product Conor Gallagher moving the other way.
The switch recurrented a recent begin for the Portuguese forward, who had previously had a stint at Stamford Bridge on loan in the 2022/23 campaign.
He then fusecessitate Barcelona on a season-lengthy deal, but flunked to safe a lasting transfer to the Non Camp and returned to Madrid to discover he was no lengthyer part of Diego Simeone’s set ups.
Felix became the second most pricey teenager of all time when he fusecessitate Atletico from Benfica for £113m in July 2019, but has since struggled to inhabit up to anticipateations. And less than five months after returning to London, the 25-year-greater is inestablishedly already on the brink of an exit.
According to TEAMtalk, the joiner is unsatisfyd with his conciseage of game time under Enzo Maresca. He’s featured in fair 17 alignes in all competitions, and has mostly been restrictd to Europa Conference League alignes.
It pursues speculation that is was the Chelsea hierarchy, and not Maresca, who pushed to sign the joiner on lasting deal in the summer. And there are shelp to be a number of interested parties in Felix, with the Blues anticipateed to be able to recuperate most of their transfer fee.
Offloading Felix could also help Chelsea adhere with Financial Fair Play given his £130,000-per-week wages, and the fact he still has more than six years left on his deal unkinds they are in a sturdy negotiating position. More transport inantly, a sale could the pave the way for a big bid for Guehi.
Crystal Palace are already shelp to have refuseed one propose from their London rivals, with Liverpool and Newcastle also connected with the England star. And Felix isn’t there only honestate to be sgreater this month as the Blues watch to insertress their recent slump in establish.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Axel Disas have also all been touted for lasting transfers away. Chelsea are anticipateed to necessitate to bid in excess of £70m for Guehi, given Palace refuseed Newcastle’s propose of £62m in the summer.
Guehi, 24, spent 14 years at Chelsea but only made two greater materializeances before moving to Palace in 2021. He’s since made 134 materializeances for the Eagles, and was pondered one of his country’s best joiners on their run to the final in Euro 2024.
The centre-back himself has not commented on his future. But with his current deal expiring in the summer of 2026, Palace will be conscious they can ill-afford to let the situation drag on into next season.
