Chelsea’s forgotten man could make dream transfer after being stripped of squad number

Chelsea spent £45million on Joao Felix less than a year ago but the forward was loaned out to AC Milan for the second half of last season and he appears to have no future at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea flop Joao Felix could be offered a homecoming to Benfica after being stripped of his squad number at Stamford Bridge. Felix, 25, was loaned out to AC Milan for the second half of last season, scoring just three goals in 21 appearances.

Milan have no interest in signing the Portugal international on a permanent basis, with Chelsea having paid a cool £45million for him last summer. After being left out of Enzo Maresca’s 28-man squad for the Club World Cup in the USA and losing his No. 14 squad number to new signing Dario Essugo, Felix finds himself searching for a new club.

At Benfica, the forward could go back to where it all started before he was sold to Atletico Madrid for an eye-watering £113m in 2019. It was in Madrid where his career began to spiral, having been one of the most coveted talents in world football as a teenager.

Benfica are now willing to offer him a return, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola. It’s said that the Primeira Liga giants are weighing up a €31m (£26.5m) bid.

But agreeing a transfer fee is just one part of the equation. Felix still has a massive six years remaining on his Chelsea contract which reportedly sees him earn £130,000 per week.

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Face-to-face negotiations could take place as soon as Saturday evening, as Chelsea face Benfica in the last 16 of Club World Cup. Felix was somewhat of a silver lining for Chelsea during his loan spell in the second half of the 2022-23 season, playing under Graham Potter and latterly Frank Lampard, as the Blues endured a nightmare campaign.

Following his move to Milan in February, it was suggested that Maresca wasn’t fully behind his return to Stamford Bridge. But the Blues boss was clear when asked directly if he wanted to sign 25-year-old.

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“Absolutely yes, if Joao was here it’s because I wanted to sign Joao,” Maresca stated. “I don’t know about the future, it’s complicated to talk about the future.

“For me, it’s just about now and the reason why Joao left is because of his desire is to get more minutes. Here, since we started, he struggled to get minutes, and he wants to leave because he wants to play more minutes, it’s no more than that.”

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