Arsenal and Aston Villa have officially missed out on Joao Felix after the 23-year-old completed a move to Chelsea.
What’s the story?
Well, it was The Athletic who revealed that Arsenal wanted to sign the Portugal international from Atlético Madrid.
Elsewhere, Spanish news outlet MARCA claimed that Unai Emery wanted to make a statement by bringing Felix to Villa Park.
Now, however, both Mikel Arteta and Emery will have to look elsewhere.
Earlier today, Chelsea announced the signing of Felix on loan until the end of the season, after Gil Martin – CEO of Atlético Madrid – stated publicly that he had been put up for sale following a fallout with Diego Simeone.
The deal is not believed to include an option for Chelsea to buy the Portuguese wonderkid on a permanent basis.
Instead, it actually involved Felix signing a new one-year contract extension to take his time with Atlético Madrid up to June 2027.
Amid rumours of Simeone leaving the Wanda Metropolitano stadium at the end of the season, it does feel as if Chelsea are simply maintaining the value of Atlético Madrid’s asset.
Arsenal & Aston Villa shouldn’t be bothered
On that note, we doubt Arsenal & Aston Villa will be too concerned about missing out on Felix due to the terms of the deal.
As aforesaid, it seems as if Chelsea are simply giving Felix a short-term platform to keep his stock high, with Atlético Madrid clearly wary of letting him rot on the sidelines.
Furthermore, Sky Sports claim that the Blues are paying a loan fee of €11m (£9.7m) as well as the forward’s wages, which are believed to be £155,000-a-week.
Therefore, it is a very expensive deal for Chelsea, one which comes with few guarantees over a permanent deal in future.
Felix has also scored just five goals in 20 appearances this season, and with Chelsea struggling down in tenth, the Portugal international could easily flounder at Stamford Bridge.
With the above taken into consideration, Arteta and Emery shouldn’t be too upset.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
