Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have opened talks over a deal involving Joao Felix after Sami Omorodion's transfer to Stamford Bridge hit the buffers tonight.
Omorodion was expected to finalise his £34.5m move on a seven year contract with an option for a further year after heading to London but negotiations hit a hitch and although both sides have tried to find a solution, the move looks to be off tonight.
Atletico wanted to offload Omorodion to offset their deals for Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Manchester City's Julian Alvarez. Those deals are in place but Atletico need to sell.
They have now revived discussions over Joao Felix 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 netted ten times in 44 appearances.
Sami Omorodion was expected to finalise a £34.5m move to Chelsea but the deal is on the verge of collapsing
However, the Catalan club's difficult financial situation meant they struggled to come up with an acceptable package to sign the player on a permanent deal.
Felix became the fourth-most expensive player in history in July 2019 when Benfica sold him to Atletico for £114m.
The Portugal international has featured for Diego Simeone's men in pre-season but his future remains uncertain.
The two clubs eventually reached an initial €75m (£64m) agreement for the Argentinian striker, which will see him leave City just two-and-a-half years after his arrival from River Plate in 2022.