Chelsea have agreed a deal to sell Joao Felix to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr for an initial £26m, potentially rising to £43.7m with add-ons. The Portuguese forward, 25, joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid for £45m last summer and signed a seven-year contract, but was loaned to AC Milan in January and has now been offloaded as part of Enzo Maresca's squad reduction.
Al-Nassr, who already have Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, will pay a fraction of the £113m Atletico paid Benfica for Felix in 2019. Chelsea had hoped to sell him back to Benfica for £35m, but the Portuguese club balked at the fee. The Blues continue to work on deals for Xavi Simons and Jorrel Hato.
Chelsea have already raised significant funds this summer, selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal for £52m and Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth for £25m. However, several other players remain on the transfer list as Maresca seeks to trim his bloated squad.
Among those expected to leave are Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell. Dewsbury-Hall, who cost £30m from Leicester last summer, is wanted by Fulham on loan, but Chelsea prefer a permanent sale. Veiga is heading to Atletico Madrid, but the clubs disagree on a fee – Chelsea want £35m, Atletico value him at £25m.
Sterling and Chilwell, both high earners, were on loan last season at Arsenal and Crystal Palace respectively. Nicolas Jackson has attracted interest from Manchester United but is not considered surplus, though his place in the pecking order has been affected by the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
