Chelsea to sign Joao Felix on six-year deal as Raheem Sterling heads for exit door

Move for Portuguese forward expected to facilitate Conor Gallagher’s transfer to Atletico Madrid for £34 million

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, in a deal that will pave the way for Conor Gallagher to move to Spain and push out-of-favour Raheem Sterling even further down the club’s pecking order.
Telegraph Sport reported last week that Chelsea and Atletico were set to hold further talks this weekend over the deals taking Felix to Stamford Bridge and Gallagher to Madrid.
Those discussions have proven to be productive, with Gallagher set to finally complete his £34 million move to Atletico in the coming days. The England midfielder had last week returned to London after the deal stalled.
Felix’s permanent move in the other direction means the Portugal international will have another chance to impress in the Premier League after he spent half a season on loan at Stamford Bridge in 2023. Felix made 16 Premier League appearances during that spell, scoring four goals. It is understood Felix will sign a six-year deal with the option of a further year.
Felix’s imminent arrival, provided the permanent transfers can be finalised as expected, will reinforce the situation facing Sterling after the winger was left out of Chelsea’s matchday squad for their opening game of the season against Manchester City.
Sterling has demanded answers over his future at the club and is hoping to have discussions with Chelsea executives in the coming days, after head coach Enzo Maresca offered no assurances that he will remain a Chelsea player beyond the end of this transfer window. Chelsea’s players had a scheduled day off on Monday.
Sterling’s representatives had released a statement on Sunday saying that the 29-year-old remains “committed, as ever, to delivering the highest level for Chelsea” and pointing out that he still has three years remaining on his contract.
Maresca said it was a “technical decision” to omit Sterling but it is clear that the England international was expecting to be involved. Fellow forwards Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu were all selected ahead of Sterling.
Chelsea’s intention to add Felix to their list of attacking options will be regarded as further proof that the club no longer regards Sterling as a key player. It remains to be seen, however, whether Sterling – who is one of the Premier League’s highest earners on around £300,000 a week – will attract serious interest from other teams this summer. In Italy, it has been reported in recent days that Juventus could make a move.
Following his loan spell at Chelsea in 2022/23, Felix spent last season on loan at Barcelona, where he scored 10 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions. The 24-year-old is a versatile forward option who can play across the front line, either as a winger or as a creative central forward.
Chelsea’s move for Felix came after the proposed signing of Atletico forward Samu Omorodion was called off at the last minute. Telegraph Sport revealed last week that Felix had indicated a desire to move back to Chelsea and that he was even willing to take a cut to his salary in order to fit into the club’s wage structure.
Atletico needed to reach an agreement to sell Felix in order to raise funds to complete the deal to sign Gallagher, having already completed the signing of Julian Alvarez from Manchester City for £81.5 million.
The collapse of the Omorodion move put Gallagher’s move to Madrid on hold, although the England midfielder received personal assurances from Atletico manager Diego Simeone that the Spanish club were desperate to sign him this summer.