Newcastle ready to hijack Joao Felix’s permanent transfer to Chelsea

Newcastle United have been tipped to sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid in the summer.

The Portuguese forward is with Chelsea on a loan deal and is likely to leave the London club, with Atletico keen to offload him.

The 23-year-old joined the Blues in the winter transfer window of the ongoing season. At Atletico, he was struggling to get regular minutes under Diego Simeone, and the club hoped a loan move would revive Felix’s career but things have not gone as expected for the forward.

Before his move to Stamford Bridge, he signed a long-term contract with the Spanish side. The extension will keep him tied to the LaLiga club until the summer of 2027.

A loan deal at Chelsea was seen as a good move in order to give Felix more minutes and, therefore, improve his market value, as Atletico wanted to cash in on him.

The Spanish club expected to get around €100 million in the forward’s sale.

But with Chelsea struggling and Felix failing to impress either, Atletico could settle for a lower price than what they had expected.

Newcastle are now said to be ready to hijack a permanent transfer for the Portuguese international. The Magpies were willing to sign him before he decided to join the London club and are now ready to push for a summer move.

With Newcastle firmly in the top-four race they expect to build a stronger team that can competently challenge European opponents next season.

As they plan for the summer, Felix has emerged as one of the key targets for Eddie Howe.

With the Portuguese international still young, Newcastle believe he has got enough time to prove himself as a world-class star.