Atletico Madrid fearful that Chelsea will not buy on-loan forward, concern about form

Atletico Madrid are growing increasingly worried about the fact that Chelsea will send Joao Felix back to Madrid at the end of the season, as the Blues are not really satisfied with his performances.

Felix, who moved to Chelsea in January on loan for the rest of the season, extended his contract with the La Liga side for a further season, until June 2027, before departing in order to help the team remain inside the league’s salary cap.

While Felix’s initial run at Chelsea was decent, he has been without a goal and an assist in each of his last six outings. What is even more troubling is that since Frank Lampard’s arrival, the young Portuguese has only been used as a second-half substitute.

Given the situation at hand, journalist Francisco Jose Delgado has reported that Atletico are quite fearful about Chelsea’s intention of sending him back.

Now, a player who was once touted as a blessing has now turned into an unwanted commodity at Wanda Metropolitano. The team from the capital city understand that recovering the €127 million they paid for his services in 2019 is going to be difficult.

In turn, they are willing to settle for anywhere around €80 million. Now, if Chelsea do end up sending him back to Madrid, the only option for the Portuguese would be to join Newcastle United.

It must be remembered that the Premier League side enquired about his availability before his move to Stamford Bridge and those sitting in Atletico offices are hopeful that they can find him a new suitor in the summer.

On the flip side, if Atletico fail to offload him in June, lack of capital – that could be raised by his transfer – coupled with his salary will make life worse for Los Colchoneros as there will be no money left for the team to sign new players in the summer.