Chelsea will not be signing loanee Joao Felix on a permanent deal this summer despite his desire to stay.
The Atletico Madrid forward joined the Premier League side on loan in January and played 20 times in all competitions, scoring four goals and recording no assists.
And new manager Mauricio Pochettino has already decided he does not want to complete a £15million permanent deal for the Portugese star.
In a ruthless first move, the Argentine has ditched the player Atletico signed for £114m – the fourth-most expensive transfer of all time – in 2019.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed the Blues will not be taking up the opportunity to sign Felix, adding that he will return to the Spanish capital.
Joao Felix has been ditched by Chelsea in a ruthless move from new boss Mauricio Pochettino
He joined Blues on loan from Atletico Madrid in January and has scored four goals in 20 games
But in a ruthless first move as the new boss, Mauricio Pochettino has ditched the Portuguese
Cerezo told Spanish outlet AS: ‘Yesterday we had the news that the new Chelsea manager (Pochettino) does not (want) João Félix.
‘We’ve known for less than 24 hours. He’ll come back here and we’ll see. We don’t have anything planned.’
The news will come as a significant blow to the gifted 23-year-old, who has spoken openly about his desire to stay in west London and was ‘desperate’ to continue his career there.
He said: ‘I don’t know yet my future. But these four, five months, I loved it. It’s a top club, everyone in the club was very good to me. My team-mates unbelievable. I really like to be here.’
Felix admitted he prefers the attacking and creative freedom he gets at Chelsea, in a clear dig at defensively minded Atletico boss Diego Simeone.
Though his contract was extended for another four years, until 2027, before his loan deal to the Blues was confirmed, he is out of favour with Simeone and Atletico despite his impeding return.
The club has slapped an £87m price tag on his head and want to recoup that amount before sanctioning a permanent sale this summer. The 30-cap Portugal international has nine goals in all competitions this season: four for Chelsea, five for Atletico.
That tally is similar to his totals in his three previous seasons at Atletico – nine, 10 and 10 – but it is still a disappointing return for someone of such obvious talent and given his huge price tag.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed Felix will now return to the Spanish capital
Gary Neville (pictured) baulked at Chelsea’s inability to secure a permanent option for Felix
Neville praised the 23-year-old’s performance after he scored against Manchester United
Pochettino has a huge in-tray at Chelsea and will be tasked with trimming the club’s huge wage bill and bloated squad as they aim to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations – and Felix is obviously not part of his plans.
Last week Felix, who wants to play Champions League football next season, dismissed claims he would join Newcastle United at the end of the season with an Instagram reply.
But when Portuguese outlet Eleven Sports ran the story on Instagram, with a picture of Felix mocked up in a Newcastle jersey, he bit back, calling them a ‘bunch of know-it-alls!’ The comment has over 4,000 likes from fellow football fans.
As reported by Mail Sport on Friday, pundit Gary Neville baulked at Chelsea’s failure to include an option to buy in Felix’s loan deal after Manchester United’s 4-1 win against the Blues on Thursday.
Playmaker Felix scored a late consolation goal for the visitors at Old Trafford after coming off the bench for interim boss Frank Lampard’s side in the second-half.
And Neville was astonished that the London side failed to include any permanent in his deal, despite having splashed out more than £600million on incomings in the space of a year under US tycoon owner Todd Boehly.
Neville raved about Felix’s quality, explaining on Sky Sports: ‘He [Felix] is a proper player, just the way he moves with the ball, it looks different.
‘He is so in control, class, real class, he has options in front of him but thinks: “no, I am going to go on my own”, really good finish. They [Chelsea] have signed everybody but the one player they should have an option on they haven’t got.’
