Chelsea is busy loading their unwanted players in the summer transfer window and has found a buyer for Joao Felix, only a year after they signed it
Chelsea's attempts to discharge their unwanted players are stimulated by the news that Joao Felix is on their way to Saudi Arabia. Felix is one of a number of flops that Enzo Maresca is desperate to shift in the summer transfer window and he has now agreed a move to Al-Nassr.
Chelsea paid £ 45 million to sign Felix from Atletico Madrid on the Deadline Day last summer and then exacerbated their fault by giving him a seven-year contract. He was only signed to facilitate the movement of Conor Gallagher in the other direction after a transfer for Athleti striker Samu Omorodion fell through.
Felix was not sought by Maresca and was lent to AC Milan for the second half of last season, where he kept impressed. Chelsea had tried to hit him back to his boys' club Benfica, but their restraint to agree with the asking price of £ 35 million has seen Al-Nassr penetrate.
The Saudi-Arab side, who borrowed Jhon Duran to Fenerbahce but still have Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, have agreed to pay Chelsea a first fee of £ 26 million, which could rise to £ 43.7 million with add-ons. That is nothing compared to the £ 113 million Atletico Madrid paid Benfica six years ago for Felix, but still a good result for Chelsea, who work on deals for Xavi Simons and Jorrel Hato.
The blues are doing relatively well this summer in terms of players' sales after they have uni -52 million Noni Madueke for Arsenal and Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth for £ 25 million. But there are still many other players on the transfer list.
Nicolas Jackson is in a different position than the others and has attracted interest from Manchester United and others. The Senegal International is pushed down the pecking order after the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, but is not undesirable by Maresca.
In the meantime, Van Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are all expected to leave. Maresca does not like working with a bloated team and has lit their departure green.
Dewsbury-Hall is sought by Fulham, but another agreement has to be reached because they insist on a loan agreement, while the blues prefer a straight transfer for the midfielder, who joined Leicester last summer.
Veiga goes to Atletico Madrid after having spent the second half of last season on loan with Juventus. Chelsea holds £ 35 million for the versatile player they signed last summer for £ 11.7 million from Basel, but Atleti appreciates him at £ 25 million.
Things are quieter for Sterling and Chilwell, who were on loan last summer at Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Both are high-quality at Stamford Bridge and are therefore important players to discharge, with profit and sustainability rules a constant struggle.