William Hill: Chelsea still want to buy Felix or trade Romelu Lukaku, which could be a win-win strategy
Chelsea's feelings for Felix are certainly complicated right now, with the team hoping to sign him, but his performance is so poor that Chelsea seem to be planning to take a more speculative approach during the transfer negotiations, and now there is news that they intend to add Romelu Lukaku to the deal.
According to Italian media outlet Football Market, Chelsea may trade Romelu Lukaku for Atletico Madrid star Felix this summer. Such a situation is perhaps best for them and Atletico.
Felix joined Chelsea on loan from La Liga giants in January. He made 15 appearances in all competitions, scoring just 2 goals.
Still, the London club wants to sign him permanently, and the outlet claims they are ready to come up with a contract for players and cash. The reason is also very simple, the current Felix's performance and condition are not worthy of his buyout money, for this issue, in fact, Atletico should also be a little self-aware.
Chelsea currently have Romelu Lukaku assessed at £35 million and they are ready to include him in the deal for Felix, who has an asking price of around £71m.
Such an operation is actually quite possible. Romelu Lukaku spent a season on loan at Inter Milan last summer and although the Belgian has struggled to prove his worth, his situation has not been much better. He scored just seven goals in 25 appearances.
He was great at Inter the first time, but he didn't play well after returning on loan for the second time, and although he has scored two goals in recent games, it is hard to say for a striker like him.
As a result, Inter will most likely not buy him out either, and he is likely to eventually return to Stamford Bridge after the season, with Chelsea using him as leverage to persuade Atletico to sell Felix.
Felix's other experience with English football this year has been tough, but Chelsea seem to believe the Portuguese will be good for them in the future. But it's not clear where Chelsea's obsession and confidence in this player comes from, but in fact Felix is indeed disappointing, and his performance has been unbearable since joining Atletico with a value of more than 100 million.
The 23-year-old has played in several of the Blues' goalscoring positions, but his eventual goal has struggled. His decision-making skills have always been poor. However, at his age, he still has room to improve and Chelsea hope Atletico can get Romelu Lukaku in an exchange deal.
Atletico are currently missing a top striker. Griezmann is their best forward source this season, but he has scored just 12 goals. Romelu Lukaku will be an upgrade once fully recovered, and convincing him to move to Atletico could be easy, as the striker is a big fan of manager Simeone.
Due to his strong body and aerial performances in the box, he could be the ideal candidate for Atletico bosses. The swap agreement is a win-win for both clubs.
Atletico now want to get rid of Felix, and the same Chelsea want to get rid of Romelu Lukaku, both sides also appreciate each other's players, and even the two players do not want to stay in the original team, in such a situation, a trade swap is actually the best option for both sides.