Chelsea and Atletico Madrid open talks over shock return to Stamford Bridge for Joao Felix as £34.5m Samu Omorodion deal hits the buffers at the 11th hour

Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have opened talks over a deal involving Joao Felix after Sami Omorodion's transfer to Stamford Bridge hit the buffers on Sunday night.

Omorodion was expected to finalise his £34.5m move on a seven year contract with an option for a further year after heading to London but negotiations hit a hitch and although both sides have tried to find a solution, the move looks to be off.

Atletico wanted to offload Omorodion to offset their deals for Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Manchester City's Julian Alvarez. Those deals are in place but Atletico need to sell.

They have now revived discussions over Joao Felix who was previously on loan at Chelsea but had been a target for Aston Villa.

Felix, who scored four goals in 20 games for Chelsea, spent last season on loan at Barcelona, for whom he netted ten times in 44 appearances.

However, the Catalan club's difficult financial situation meant they struggled to come up with an acceptable package to sign the player on a permanent deal. 

Felix became the fourth-most expensive player in history in July 2019 when Benfica sold him to Atletico for £114m.

The Portugal international has featured for Diego Simeone's side in pre-season but his future remains uncertain.

As revealed by Mail Sport last week, Atletico offered Felix to Manchester City as part of a deal for Alvarez. 

The two clubs eventually reached an initial €75m (£64m) agreement for the Argentinian striker, which will see him leave City just two-and-a-half years after his arrival from River Plate in 2022.