Joao Felix has revealed he would be open to joining Chelsea permanently in the summer but his preference is to play for a club in the Champions League next season.
The Portuguese forward joined the Blues on loan in January, after a reported fallout with Diego Simeone at parent club Atletico Madrid.
Asides a red card on his debut against Fulham, Felix has been a shining light for Chelsea in recent time, despite their recent struggles. On a personal level though, he has not exactly hit the ground running though, having scored just once in six appearances.
There is much talk about where the 23-year-old will be playing his football next season, with his career at Atletico looking all but over with the presence of Simeone at the club.
However, while interest remains in the player, only very few clubs would be able to afford the £80million plus fee that Atletico want for his permanent sale.
Though Chelsea are surely interested in making it a permanent transfer, their spending power in the summer might be somewhat reduced, given that Todd Boehly has already spent £600m on transfers since his takeover of the club.
Felix gives transfer hint on his future
As quoted by ESPN, Felix says he is happy at the west-London club, but remains unsure about what the future holds for him at Stamford Bridge.
“In terms of if I want to stay or not, I think the future, no-one knows.”
“Now I am just focused on tomorrow’s game. After that, we don’t know what will happen.”
“But I am happy here. The club is so big, is amazing, everyone behind the club is so good, so yes I am happy to be here.”
After their win over Leeds on Saturday, Chelsea are now 10th in the table, 11 points off the top four, though with a game in hand over fourth-placed Tottenham.
A top-four finish now looks like a mammoth ask and winning the Champions League itself this season may now be their only route of playing in the competition next term.
It is a very tricky task for the Blues, given that they are already 1-0 down to Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.
The second leg of that tie is on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge, and if they fail to win it would not only end their hopes of lifting a trophy this season but could also be the reason Felix chooses to leave the club.
“Playing Champions League is always different. It is the competition that everyone wants to play,’ he added.
“But now I am focused on this Champions League, tomorrow’s game. We have a lot of games yet to try to reach the Champions League in the league. It is not over.”
“Playing Champions League, it is [an] important decision. But the future, no one knows so let’s see what happens.”
