Chelsea’s on-loan striker Joao Felix has made an impressive start to his tenure with the Blues, despite a debut red card against Fulham.
Graham Potter could well make the move to take Felix permanently in the summer transfer window but Chelsea may not be able to do this without a buy-option contract in place.
One way Chelsea could make the move happen would be to include some of their current players in order to bring down Felix’s price for Atletico Madrid, given that they initially paid £113 million for him.
Five names have been speculated as possible players who could become part of such a deal – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Aubameyang has shown no signs of playing time at Chelsea since Graham Potter took the reins and he was previously linked with Atletico Madrid before the window closed.
Lukaku has been similarly low on Chelsea’s priority list after spending the season on loan with Inter Milan due to injury concerns, so he may return to London if Atletico chooses him as part of the deal.
Kovacic is currently an active member at Chelsea but his role might be undermined by Enzo Fernandez; however, previous spells of service with Real Madrid make him a familiar name across La Liga and Diego Simeone prefer having a target man up front which Lukaku could provide.
Ziyech was originally looking forward to leaving Chelsea but his much-rumoured transfer to PSG stalled due to technical errors and should PSG decide against reviving their interest then it could open doors for another team like Atletico Madrid who look for added aerial presence in their side.
Lastly, Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly appears far away from regaining his spot next season so Potter might consider letting go one year into his term if it helps seal Felix’s permanent move at a lower price tag.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
