Chelsea have set their asking price for Joao Felix after the Stamford Bridge flop held further talks with boyhood club Benfica, according to reports in Portugal.
Felix, 25, is set to leave Chelsea this summer after a dismal spell at the club.
Chelsea spent £45m to sign the Portuguese playmaker from Atletico Madrid last summer but he started just three Premier League games before being sent on loan to AC Milan in January.
Felix did little to win over new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and suffered a similar fate in Milan where he continued to struggle, ending any hopes of a permanent move to the Italians.
Benfica have held talks with Chelsea over a deal for Felix and the Premier League club have indicated they will happily sell him – providing they receive an offer of at least £21m.
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Portuguese outlet A Bola say Benfica are ‘dreaming’ of bringing Felix back to the club where he came through the ranks and first established himself as a potential superstar.
They even want a deal to be completed in time for Felix to feature for Benfica at the upcoming Club World Cup, which starts on June 15.
Felix scored 20 goals in his first and only season in Benfica’s first-team before being signed by Atletico Madrid for £113m in 2019, making him the fourth-most expensive player in history.
Benfica now have the chance to re-sign him for at least £21m but the real obstacle potentially blocking the deal is Felix’s huge salary.
A Bola say Benfica are not able to ‘even come close’ to matching Felix’s Chelsea wages so the ex-Barcelona loanee will need to take a significant pay-cut to return to the club.
Ex-Chelsea title winner John Obi Mikel recently urged his former club to sell Felix this summer and said he had ‘no idea’ why he returned to Stamford Bridge.
‘The reason why he came back to Chelsea, I have no idea,’ he told the Daily Telegraph. ‘Spending £40-£50 million on bringing him back and letting him go on loan after a few months.
‘I just don’t understand it at all and how that happened. I’m sure Paul Winstanley and the rest of the guys have learnt from that, and not to make the same mistake again.
‘He’s been at the club twice now and not performed. It has to be sell.’
Felix was on the bench for Portugal during their Nations League semi-final win over Germany on Wednesday night.
He will hope to get an opportunity to make an impact on Sunday evening when Portugal face Spain in the Nations League final at the Allianz Arena.
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