Newcastle United have been linked with a move for the Portuguese forward Joao Felix, who spent the last half of last season on loan at Chelsea. Atletico Madrid are understood to be looking to move the forward on this summer after the new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino opted against making Felix a permanent member of his Blues side, meaning Felix has now returned to his parent club.
But Atletico manager Diego Simeone has been clear about the forward’s future in recent weeks.
“Joao is an Atletico Madrid player who, if he does not have a place at Chelsea, as Pochettino apparently said, he will have to come to Atletico de Madrid, he will have to work with us again, and obviously we will be willing to give him the best for that he can improve in what we believe is important.” Simeone said in an interview with El Partidazo De COPE.
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Felix scored four goals in 16 Premier League games for a struggling Chelsea side last season and he is set to be offered to Newcastle United and other Premier League clubs this summer as Atletico look for another loan deal.
While Simeone said he would welcome Felix back to the Spanish capital, it also seems clear Atletico would be open to selling should the right deal come along. When asked about any bids for Felix the Argentine manager responded, “Bids for Joao Felix? We've to see if the proposal will be good financially for the club, that is crucial.”
Felix signed for Madrid in 2019 for £113 million and whilst it is likely Atletico wouldn’t recoup that whole fee back should they sell the player this summer, it is likely they will want a large chunk of it.
Eddie Howe has always stressed about the confines of Financial Fair Play having an impact on United’s transfer budget, so a move would probably go against the club's stance on the FFP front. Despite this, reports in Spain suggest Newcastle are one of the Premier League clubs looking to bring Joao Felix back to England.
