Ex-Chelsea loanee Joao Felix STRIPPED of No7 shirt at Atletico Madrid with £112m striker’s career in limbo
JOAO FELIX has been stripped of his No.7 shirt at Atletico Madrid as his career remains stuck in limbo.
The 23-year-old Portuguese forward headed to Chelsea in January to spend the second half of last season on loan.
Felix scored four goals in 16 Premier League appearances but was unable to stop the rot at the Blues.
It was widely-thought thought he would be permanently moving to Stamford Bridge this summer.
But he has been left stunned after it emerged that Chelsea were pursuing other targets and Mauricio Pochettino’s side have already bolstered their attack.
Nicolas Jackson has arrived in a £32m switch from Villarreal while they have also confirmed the signing of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig for £52m.
Felix, who moved to Atletico from Benfica in 2019 for £113m, fell out with the LaLiga’s side manager Diego Simeone last season.
And the club still appear to be open to letting him leave after they revealed their latest squad numbers for the 2023/24 campaign.
The ace has had his No.7 shirt, the number he had worn since he arrived at Atletico, taken away.
Antoine Griezmann will instead be wearing it this term as speculation mounts on the future of Felix.
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He did, however, hint at a move to the Blues’ London rivals, West Ham this week.
He was filmed practising his skills by football agent Miguel Gomes while wearing the Hammers’ third kit from last season.
In the video, Felix can be seen taking part in a shooting drill, scoring three out of his five attempts.
It is the same shirt they wore as they won the Conference League and had West Ham star Said Benrahma‘s name on the back.
Felix has also been linked with moves to Newcastle, Wolves and Aston Villa.
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