Joao Felix to extend Atletico Madrid contract before Chelsea loan?

Atletico Madrid are reportedly looking to extend the contract of Joao Felix, despite his pending loan switch to Chelsea.

For a number of weeks, it has been heavily claimed that the Portugal international will be allowed to depart Wanda Metropolitano during the January transfer window.

At one point, it appeared that no clubs would take up that opportunity, a consequence of Atletico's loan demands and no prospect of a future fee being included in any proposal.

However, on Monday afternoon, it emerged that Chelsea had reached an agreement to sign the 23-year-old on a straight loan deal until the end of the season.

The Premier League side are said to have reached a compromise with their Atletico counterparts and will pay a loan fee of £9.7m, far lower than was initially demanded.

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If everything goes as planned, Felix is expected to complete a switch to Stamford Bridge over the next 48 hours, but it appears that Atletico first want to make changes to Felix's contract.

According to Marca, club officials are keen to extend the playmaker's terms by a further 12 months.

While Felix already has a deal in place until 2026, a contract through to 2027 would lower the amortization and aid Atletico's efforts to balance their books.

As it stands, it is unclear whether Felix is open to accepting such terms, aware that he is not viewed as a key man under Diego Simeone.

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That is despite Felix delivering four goals and three assists from his 651 minutes of football in Spain's top flight during 2022-23.

Felix also chipped in with one strike and two assists for Portugal at the World Cup, and he is in line to arrive at Chelsea in his best form for some time.

Chelsea have already made three additions to their squad since the turn of the year, signing Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.

Of the three, only Badiashile is certain to remain at the club for the second half of the campaign, but other names are being heavily linked with a move to Graham Potter's side.

Chelsea are also said to be contemplating approaches for Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram and PSV Eindhoven's Noni Madueke, two players who may be sold for the right price in January.