Chelsea submit stunning €65 million bid to sign Barcelona flop - Reports

Chelsea have reportedly made a €65 million offer to sign former Barcelona loanee Joao Felix this summer. He signed for Atletico Madrid for a €126 million fee back in 2019 but has since struggled to live up to the potential he showed at SL Benfica.

Recently, Felix has found no favor under Diego Simeone. He was loaned to Chelsea for the second half of the 2022-23 season, where he scored four goals in 20 matches across competitions.

The following season, Felix was allowed to join Barcelona on a temporary one-year deal. Now that he is back at Atletico Madrid, his future has once again been cast under a shadow of doubt.

According to Portuguese outlet O Jogo (via @BlueCoXtra on X), the Blues have submitted a €35 million offer with €30 million in add-ons. The two teams are believed to be in negotiations and the offer has supposedly not been accepted by Atletico Madrid.

The news comes after reports of Felix being open to a return to Chelsea. The west London giants also missed out on a move for Felix's Atletico Madrid teammate Samu Omorodion despite the two clubs agreeing on a fee for the 20-year-old striker.

Felix, 24, still has five years left on his deal at Atletico but hasn't played for them since January 2023. He featured 44 times for Barcelona last term, where he scored 10 times and laid out six assists.

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Pundit raises doubts over Chelsea potentially re-signing Joao Felix

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent thinks Chelsea fans are right to be holding doubts about the club re-signing Joao Felix. The club boasts a plethora of players — 55, including loanees, after the £54 million (with add-ons) deal to sign Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Neto was also their 11th signing this summer, and Bent believes fans will be wondering where Enzo Maresca will fit all this talent. Referring to Felix's debut in a 2-1 league loss against Fulham in January last year, he said on TalkSPORT:

"I think with Pedro Neto, fans will think ‘yes!’. With Joao Felix, his debut last time was against Fulham and he got sent off but he looked really good before that. I like Joao Felix, I think he’s such a talented footballer but for whatever reason, there always seems to be something missing. But I watched him in the Euros against Georgia and he had some nice touches but when you need to score a goal or create something, it’s not there."

Felix went to the 2024 UEFA Euros with Portugal but played in just two of their five matches, making no tangible contributions in the final third.