Conor Gallagher was today due to fly to Spain to finally seal his £33million move to Atletico Madrid, after Chelsea made a breakthrough in talks to sign Joao Felix.
Gallagher’s switch from Chelsea to Atletico has been hanging in the balance after a deal for Samu Omorodion to move in the opposite direction collapsed.
But Chelsea have reached a separate agreement with Atletico worth around £42m for 24-year-old Portugal forward Felix, who is set to sign a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
Gallagher has now been given the green light to fly to Madrid and finalise his transfer to Atletico.
The 24-year-old England midfielder travelled to Madrid last week and agreed a five-year contract with the Spanish giants, but he has been in limbo as he waited on the Felix deal.
His move has hinged on Atletico raising transfer funds after they splashed out £81m to sign Julian Alvarez from Manchester City.
Chelsea signing Felix, whose move is subject to a medical, will push Raheem Sterling further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge and raise further doubts over his future.
Sterling fears he is being forced out by Chelsea after he was left out of their squad for Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against Manchester City.
Juventus have made an enquiry to sign Sterling amid the doubts over his future, but finances could be prohibitive for the Italian giants.
Sterling still has three years left on his contract worth more than £300,000 a week and Chelsea could face a battle to offload him, as the Blues bid to cut their wage bill and ensure they stay in line with Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
It also remains to be seen whether Sterling would be prepared to uproot his young family, who are settled in London.
Sterling has already rebuffed interest from the Saudi Pro League and it is hard to see an obvious destination for him in the Premier League.
New Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca already has plenty of wide options and has made it clear he wants to decrease the size of a squad of more than 30 players.
But Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Felix, who scored four goals in 20 appearances during a loan spell at Stamford Bridge in the second half of the 2022-23 season.
Felix spent last season on loan at Barcelona and scored 10 times in 44 appearances. He can play as a second striker, on the left wing and as a No10.
Chelsea have already brought in eight new signings this summer are still looking at striker options. They remain interested in Napoli frontman Victor Osimhen.
The Blues have put Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja, Djordje Petrovic, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Romelu Lukaku, Cesare Casadei, David Datro Fofana, Angelo Gabriel and Tino Anjorin up for sale.
