Top source claims that European giants are ready to make ambitious 50% offer for €40m Chelsea star | OneFootball

Chelsea are having a lot of fun out in the USA, but when they return home next week they will have to crack on with a lot of homework.

That mainly involves selling players, the majority of whom are returning to training at Cobham next week. One of them is Joao Felix, the attacking midfielder bought in a rash moment from Atletico Madrid last summer.

There has been rumoured interested from his former team Benfica all summer, but it hasn’t gone anywhere until now.

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Benfica prepare to compete for title again with push for Felix

Joao Felix wearing number 79 for Benfica.

Noted Portuguese football paper O Jogo are today claiming that a Felix return to his boyhood club is closer than it’s ever been. They say that Eagles want to buy 50% of Felix for €20m as they try to build a title winning team under Bruno Lage.

They also note that Felix is willing to “sacrifice the financial security” of his contract until 2031 with Chelsea in order to “complete the dream of returning to play with the Eagle on his chest.”

That makes things a lot smoother financially, but there still seem a lot of question marks about the bid.

Third party questions still need to be answered

We’re not sure exactly how this operation would work – third party ownership isn’t possible in the Premier League, so Chelsea would be selling 100% of Felix for €40m. Benfica would own 50%, and would have to find an investor to pay for the other half.

It’s not impossible, but does seem complicated. A loan with a compulsory purchase clause could be another option. Benfica are likely to try and lower our demands by waiting until later in the summer, with no other interest in Felix really forthcoming.