Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has said he is hopeful Chelsea will be able to sign Joao Felix this summer - and even suggested two players they might look to offload to help them in their pursuit.

Felix has been a revelation since joining on loan from Atletico Madrid in the summer, taking to English football swiftly, in spit of his sending off on his debut at Fulham.

Amid an impressive recent run for Graham Potter's side in which they won three games in a row and came close to making it four against Everton over the weekend, the Portuguese has been instrumental and has been praised by his team-mates and manager alike for his performances and application. 

Speaking to , Leboeuf said he believed Felix was a 'great' player who Chelsea should do everything to try and acquire permanently.

‘Joao Felix is a great player,’ he said. ‘I think he’s the most dangerous player, the most entertaining player, the most artistic player at Chelsea right now. He’s been pretty consistent too, almost every game he creates something.

Frank Leboeuf has urged Chelsea to offload players this summer so that they can sign Joao Felix permanently 

‘Hopefully Chelsea will be able to sell a few players – maybe Pulisic and Mount – and can then get Felix on a permanent.

‘It would be a lot of money, that’s the only worry for the owners. But in terms of a football player, I would sign him.’

The Portugal international, who became Atletico Madrid's record signing when he joined from Benfica in 2019 for £113, fell out of favour with the Spanish club after a very public spat with manager Diego Simeone. 

The club opted to back the Argentine boss, with it deemed necessary to move Felix on, at least temporarily, to try and fix the situation.

'The way of playing here and at my club are different,' Felix said after Portugal brushed aside Switzerland 6-1 at the World Cup. 'When the conditions are favourable, things go better. The joy is different.' 

Meanwhile, also in December Atletico Madrid chief Miguel Angel Gil Marin outlined the difficulties in the relationship between the player and manager.

'I believe he is a top, world-class player, but for reasons it is not worth getting into now, the relationship between him and the ‘mister’ (Diego Simeone) is not good, nor is his motivation,' Miguel Angel Gil Marin said last month. 

Enzo Fernandez has been on the record in his admiration for Felix, publicly admitting he hopes Chelsea 'do all they can' to ensure he is at the club next season. 

‘When you get on with someone off the field it helps on the field to have that special connection,’ Fernandez said last month.

‘He’s a great player, isn’t he? A fantastic player. He’s got lots of ability and loads of qualities.

‘He’s a key player for us, an important player and he’s on loan. Let’s hope that Chelsea can do all they can to keep hold of him come June, that would be great.’