Chelsea are due to hold a new round of talks with Atletico Madrid over the weekend as the two clubs aim to break the deadlock over Conor Gallagher and Joao Felix.
Gallagher returned to London this week after his move to Atletico Madrid stalled, following the collapse of Samu Omorodion’s proposed switch to Stamford Bridge.
Atletico now need to raise cash to complete the Gallagher deal and offered Felix, who has also been a target of Aston Villa, to Chelsea.
Felix is keen to rejoin Chelsea, where he spent half a season on loan, but the club have made it clear that they will only sign him permanently on their terms.
Chelsea have received indications that Felix is prepared to fit into the club’s wage structure, but still need to agree a fee with Atletico for the Portuguese.
Atletico head coach Diego Simeone personally assured Gallagher that he remains desperate to sign him before the midfielder boarded his plane back to London and sources are still confident that a breakthrough will be found.
Other than negotiating with Atletico over Felix and Gallagher, Chelsea are hopeful that a deal may be struck with Napoli to sign striker Victor Osimhen. The Italians want to sign Romelu Lukaku.
Ahead of his first Premier League game as Chelsea head coach against Manchester City on Sunday, Enzo Maresca confirmed that Gallagher is training away from his first-team squad and that the club remain in the market to make signings.
“Conor is back in training at this moment a bit apart [from the first-team squad],” said Maresca. “He is having medical tests and he is trying to find a solution [to move to Atletico], so we will see what happens. Hopefully, for Conor and the club, everyone will be happy.”
Asked about Felix and Osimhen, Maresca added: “They are not our players, so it would not be correct to speak about the Atletico player or the Napoli player. The club knows exactly what I think in case we need to do something. At the end of the transfer window, we can bring some players.”
