There are important developments in the soap opera of the last few days at Atlético de Madrid , in the operation of Joao Félix and Conor Gallagher . Both players are destined to change teams together. The Portuguese has been training very well this week, waiting to finalize his exit from the club, something that is very close to happening.
Diego Simeone has made it clear that he no longer counts on the Portuguese footballer, and he will not travel to Villarreal unless there is a surprise. His departure from the team is being expedited, which will put an end to the stage of the most expensive signing in the history of Atlético de Madrid . Chelsea and Atlético have accelerated a lot in these hours, with very important advances between the clubs.
Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto: Operation almost completed
The deal is on the verge of finalising, according to reports from Matteo Moretto and Fabrizio Romano on their X accounts. The Italians have confirmed that the deal has accelerated a lot and is about to close positively for both entities. Conor Gallagher is counting the hours until he returns to Madrid , after two days training separately with Chelsea .
Conor Gallagher is waiting for the final OK to return to the capital and announce his arrival at the club colchonero . He already has an agreement in principle for five fixed seasons, plus some optional ones. He would also sign for around 40 million euros, since the rojiblancos were looking to lower the cost of the operation in the last few hours.
Joao Felix may travel to London imminently
Joao Felix is expected to travel to London this weekend if everything is finally agreed. The differences yesterday were minimal, less than 5 million in total, so the agreement is well on its way. Enzo Maresca did not want to talk about the operation in public, after being asked by journalists at the press conference.
The Italian admitted that "They are Napoli players, because of Oshimen, and Atlético de Madrid players, because of Joao Felix," he told the media. No less than 53 players are training at Cobham . The London club wants to close his signing as soon as possible so they can focus on other players, and Joao has agreed to join Chelsea .
Total amount: 55 million between fixed and variable
The final amount of the operation will be between 40 and 46 million euros, plus variables. Atlético want Chelsea to reach at least 55 million euros. These are figures that Stamford Bridge had not contemplated, but which both clubs have been getting closer to in the last few hours.
Both Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly have positively analysed Joao Felix 's six months in London , but he did not stay on Pochettino 's recommendation. Although Frank James Lampard also gave his verdict, and it was not positive for the Portuguese.
Joao Felix had to return to Madrid to go on loan at the last minute to FC Barcelona , with whom he scored 10 goals and gave six assists in the 44 games played . He scored two goals against Diego Pablo Simeone's team, one of them controversially celebrated.