Chelsea set to take huge financial hit on top star amid plans to axe players

Chelsea are facing the familiar problem of trying to sell of their unwanted players in the summer transfer window, with one player set to cause a particular headache

Chelsea know they will have to take a massive hit when they sell Joao Felix this summer, with the club paying the price for previous mistakes. Felix was signed for £45million as part of the move which saw Conor Gallagher go in the other direction to Atletico Madrid, but they are now trying to flog him for whatever they can get.

The Portuguese forward was never wanted by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and is a prime example of the club’s scatter gun approach to recruitment. Felix was only signed as a makeweight in the Gallagher deal, which the Blues needed to go through in order to meet profit and sustainability rules.

After all, Felix had only scored four goals in 20 appearances during a loan spell in west London in 2023. Yet they handed him a seven-year contract on deadline day last summer, having failed to sign Atleti striker Samu Omorodion instead.

The result was predictably shambolic. Felix failed to make an impression on Maresca and was loaned out to AC Milan for the second half of last season, where he managed just three goals in 21 appearances.

He was left out of Chelsea’s 28-man squad for the Club World Cup in the USA and then lost his No.14 squad number to new signing Dario Essugo. Now The Sun reports that his move back to Benfica – the club who sold him to Atleti for £113m six years ago – has stalled.

While Benfica are keen to re-sign their homegrown talent, they are unwilling to pay the £35m Chelsea are asking for. They have already seen an offer of £17.3m plus a 50 per cent sell-on fee rejected by Chelsea, but are not worried.

With reported interest from Saudi Arabia yet to emerge, Benfica believe they are the only option for Chelsea. And they are happy to play the waiting game, in the knowledge that they hold all the cards in this negotiation.

Bruno Lage does want a reunion with Felix, who he won the league with back in 2018/19, but the club feels there is no rush. Chelsea, meanwhile, are under increasing pressure to shift their fringe players.

Last month we reported that there could be as many as 10 players moved on by the Blues this summer. They have since negotiated the exits of Noni Madueke, in a £52m deal to Arsenal, and Djordje Petrovic, to Bournemouth for £25m, but others, like Felix, will be more difficult.

Maresca’s own words might not help. Back in February he admitted that Chelsea weren’t missing him – although he did at least confirm Felix’s professionalism. "Nothing happened,” the Chelsea boss said. “As I said before, the players train every day and have the ambition to play every game, but unfortunately they can only play 11.

“We decided, all together, that the best option was for him to leave. Did he ever complain about the lack of use? No, he never complained. He was always very professional with us.

“It was just my decision. I've said it several times, we need to have defensive balance and when you have so many attacking players, sometimes you can concede transitions or goals to the opponents and I don't like that."