Joao Felix completes Chelsea medical as England star set to join Atletico Madrid in exchange

After Aston Villa initially showed interest in the Atletico Madrid forward, but Chelsea emerged as the leading club to sign him as the summer went on. Portugal international Felix had a six-month loan spell at Stamford Bridge from January 2023 and then spent last season with Barcelona.

Chelsea have agreed an initial £46.3m fee with Atletico, which sees the 24-year-old make a permanent switch on a six-year deal, with an option for a further year. Felix was not included in the Atletico Madrid match squad for Monday night’s La Liga game at Villarreal.

The transfer also opens up the possibility for Conor Gallagher to move in the opposite direction, after his move to Atletico hit a stumbling block. Gallagher, 24, had even moved to Spain to get his deal over the line, before being recalled back to London for the start of the Premier League season.

It’s thought that Gallagher, who had a major role in England’s Euros 2024 campaign, will be heading to Atletico for £38m.

While Chelsea are looking to bolster their attack, the Independent is reporting that Belghian striker Romelu Lukaku and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen will have a similar exchange, with the former spending the past couple of seasons out on loan in Italy.

Neither Gallagher or Lukaku were included in Chelsea’s squad for the first game of the Premier League season, which saw the Blues lose 2-0 at home to Manchester City.