Fabrizio Romano exclusive has Joao Felix fee as talks reach “final stages” | OneFootball

Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have been locked in transfer talks over various players all summer, and right now they’re as intwined as possible.

Just listen to Fabrizio Romano’s latest update on the Conor Gallagher – Joao Felix situation, as reported on his Substack.

“Chelsea and Atletico have now advanced to the final stages of the Felix negotiation,” the Italian insider explained.

“So, they are now working on the final details for Felix to return to Chelsea, and for Gallagher to join Atletico Madrid. As previously reported, the final fee for Felix is not going to be something like €65-70m as has been reported in Spain, but something lower, closer to €40m or maximum €45m, but probably a structure of €40m plus add-ons.”

This sounds like it’s coming close to the final arrangement, with Gallagher going the other way for a similar sum. Your opinions on those two players will colour your impression of the deal, but it’s still pretty jaw dropping that it’s happening, given how unlikely we would have thought a Felix return was just a week or so ago.

A bonus factor for Atletico

There’s also an interesting note about why Atletico might be in even more of a rush to complete the deal:

“One important thing to remember is that on Wednesday Atletico are planning to unveil their new signings at their stadium, so although this is not an official deadline, they would love to have Gallagher there after such a long and crazy saga. They’re working to get it done and I’ll keep you posted on the details of when it looks like finally being completed,” Romano added.

Let’s be honest, this is a pretty minor factor compared to the big picture – their season starting next weekend – but it’s certainly going to add a little more urgency to the situation.