Chelsea and Atletico Madrid open talks over shock return to Stamford Bridge for Joao Felix as £34.5m Samu Omorodion deal hits the buffers at the 11th hour

Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have opened talks over a deal involving Joao Felix after Sami Omorodion’s move to Stamford Bridge stalled tonight.

Omorodion was expected to finalise his £34.5m transfer on a seven-year deal with an option for a further year after heading to London, but negotiations have stalled and although both parties have tried to find a solution, the move appears to be falling through tonight.

Atletico wanted to get rid of Omorodion to compensate for deals with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez. Those deals are already in place, but Atletico need to sell.

They have now rekindled talks over João Félix, who was previously on loan at Chelsea but had been a target for Aston Villa.

Felix, who scored four goals in 20 games for Chelsea, spent last season on loan at Barcelona, ​​for whom he scored ten goals in 44 appearances.

Sami Omorodion was expected to complete a £34.5m move to Chelsea but the deal is on the brink of collapse.

The Portuguese striker was previously on loan at Chelsea but had been a target for Aston Villa.

However, the Catalan club’s difficult financial situation meant it had difficulty securing an acceptable package to sign the player on a permanent contract.

Felix became the fourth most expensive player in history in July 2019 when Benfica sold him to Atletico for £114m.

The Portuguese international has featured for Diego Simeone’s men in pre-season, but his future remains uncertain.

As revealed by Mail Sport last week, Atletico offered Felix to Manchester City as part of a deal for Alvarez.

The two clubs eventually agreed an initial €75m (£64m) deal for the Argentine striker, who will leave City just two-and-a-half years after joining from River Plate in 2022.