Fabrizio Romano has provided some insight into the Joao Felix to Chelsea transfer deal, explaining why Barcelona decided not to move for him again after his loan spell at the Nou Camp last season.
Felix has had a slightly difficult few years, having struggled to find his best form at Atletico Madrid, leading to a loan move to Chelsea in the second half of 2022/23 before then spending the 2023/24 campaign at Barca.
The Portugal international didn’t exactly set the world alight during either of those moves, but he’s now heading back to Chelsea on a permanent transfer, while Barcelona decided to move for Dani Olmo for that position instead, according to Romano as he spoke to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his exclusive Daily Briefing column.
Felix transfer: Barca chose Olmo over Chelsea target
Discussing the Felix situation, Romano spoke about how happy the player is to be heading back to Stamford Bridge, as he clearly felt good there even if his form on the pitch wasn’t the best, with Mauricio Pochettino seemingly a key factor in why the Blues didn’t bring him in last season.
“Joao Felix to Chelsea is a ‘here we go’ – it’s done, and it’s a permanent transfer, an investment of around €40m plus add-ons. Felix will sign a six-year deal at Chelsea plus the option for one further season,” Romano said.
“Felix is very happy to return to Chelsea, and when he found out about this opportunity he was more than excited – he always felt that Chelsea was the perfect place for him after a very good few months there on loan in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
“Felix had a very good feeling at Chelsea but when Mauricio Pochettino arrived as manager he decided not to sign him permanently, so it was not the Chelsea board, but now that Pochettino is no longer at Chelsea, they will proceed to bring in Felix on a permanent transfer. He’s travelled to London for his medical tests, it will then take a bit of time to formally complete everything and then Felix will be unveiled as a new Chelsea player.”
He added: “One final point on Felix after he spent last season on loan at Barcelona as I’ve had some questions about why Barca didn’t keep him. In the end, they preferred to move for Dani Olmo, also because Atletico Madrid were only selling Felix this summer and not considering another loan.
“Deco is big fan of Olmo and decided to proceed with him as priority target, just a technical choice by the club. Felix is very happy to go to Chelsea, I can guarantee that.”
