Here is your Chelsea transfer round-up on Tuesday, January 10.
Chelsea reach Felix agreement
Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Joao Felix on a loan deal until the end of the season, football.london understands. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, that verbal agreement will see the Portugal international arrive on loan for "approximately €11million".
Felix is determined to leave Atletico Madrid, but football.london understand a deal has not been finalised just yet. There is said to be plenty of interest in Felix from elsewhere but Chelsea are now close to wrapping up the deal.
Manchester United and Arsenal were two of those interested clubs over a possible loan deal for Felix but the report from The Athletic also added that the 23-year-old opted for the Blues having been attracted by their project.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola stunned by Chelsea star as Todd Boehly handed new £26.5m transfer conundrum
Gvardiol blow
Chelsea's interest in Josko Gvardiol is well-known with the RB Leipzig defender the recipient of a late move from the Blues in the summer transfer window.
Todd Boehly has now been told that Gvardiol will not be leaving RB Leipzig in January "under any circumstances". The Blues are still hoping to sign the defender but their long-term plans have also been hindered after Leipzig director Max Eberl made a major prediction regarding the Croatians future beyond 2023.
Interest from Real Madrid as well as Chelsea does not appear to be a concerning matter to RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl, who has delivered a significant update on Gvardiol regarding both his short-term and long-term future.
"I'm in contact with his agency," Eberl told reporters. "We are in very open talks. Our position is clear: He's not leaving this winter under any circumstances, and it's also not our intention to let him go in the summer of 2024.
"Beyond that, it's hard to say. But we are definitely planning with him for the next year and a half."
Fresh Caicedo price tag
Brighton CEO Paul Barber has joked that £42million for Moises Caicedo would only be enough to pay for his laces after Graham Potter had suggested that that fee would only be enough to acquire his boots.
Chelsea's interest in many Brighton assets is well-documented, with Leandro Trossard and Alexis Mac Allister also identified as transfer targets by the Blues, months after Potter departed the Seagulls for west London.
Earlier this year Potter was asked about a £42m bid for the player only for him to say that for that price a buyer would "probably get his boots" such is the shrewdness of owner Tony Bloom. When that was raised to £100m Potter then responded, "Yeah, well they can try."
Barber was firmer in his stance though, adding: “I am not sure £42 million will even include the boots now, maybe just the laces. But joking aside, every player’s value is ultimately determined by the market. Graham’s comments were part in jest but part serious because Moises [Caicedo] has been an exceptional player for us.
“Since he came to the Premier League he has developed all the time. He’s a young man with a great attitude, a fantastic work ethic, and a very nice human being off the pitch. So all those things contribute to the value of a footballer should it come to that moment to sell.”
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