Chelsea interest in Atletico’s Felix after Omorodion talks stall

Chelsea are weighing up a move to re-sign forward Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid after talks for striker Samu Omorodion collapsed.

Discussions over personal terms between the Blues and Atletico’s 20-year-old Omorodion broke down last night despite a £34.5million fee having been agreed last week.

There had always been caution at Stamford Bridge about the deal for Omorodion while the Blues explore a move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, with Romelu Lukaku moving the other way.

A deal for Omorodion is not 100 percent over, but negotiations have not progressed as the various parties had hoped.

Chelsea are now considering a move for Felix, among a host of other attacking options, after meeting with his agent Jorge Mendes.

A £54m deal to sign Wolves forward Pedro Neto, confirmed on Saturday, means Chelsea have signed 10 players so far this summer, with an average age of under 21, spending £185m and bulking up their squad to about 50 senior players.

Felix, 24, is open to a return to Stamford Bridge where he enjoyed his six months on loan during the 2022-23 season.

BBC Sport understand Atletico value Felix at around £43m.

Atletico made Felix the fifth most expensive player in history when they paid Benfica £113m for the then 19-year-old in 2019.

Another aspect of any potential deal is that it would allow midfielder Conor Gallagher to complete his move to Wanda Metropolitano for £34m, with Atletico needing to bank a major player sale to complete the move.

Atletico posted a photograph of Gallagher on their social media channels on Saturday but stopped short of announcing the deal, knowing it was tied to them completing a major player sale.

The LaLiga club’s £81.5million move for Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez is still expected to go through regardless of the need to sell a player to sign Gallagher.