Chelsea have reportedly been informed that they must finalise a deal for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix by next week.
The Premier League and La Liga giants have become embroiled in a complex transfer situation over the past week as they bid to bolster their respective situations with financial fair play.
After a deal which would have seen Samu Omorodion leave Atletico for Chelsea broke down, Felix emerged as a realistic alternative for the Blues.
Negotiations are said to have been held in recent days with Atletico wanting to recoup more than the £34.5m that they would have generated for Omorodion.
Meanwhile, the saga involving Conor Gallagher continues, the England international having spent multiple days in Madrid before being asked to fly back to England by Chelsea.
Atletico eager to find resolution
Gallagher has allegedly been told by Diego Simeone that Atletico officials will do all that they can to find a positive resolution with the player having agreed to move to Colchoneros.
For that to materialise, though, Chelsea need to stump up the cash to get a deal for Felix over the line, with a fee of least £50m being required to stop Atletico making a loss with regards to amortisation.
According to AS, Atletico officials want both deals to have been completed by August 21.
That is the date for the official unveiling of their other new signings and they want Gallagher to be a part of the presentation.
As it stands, it is unclear how Chelsea will react if they feel that they are being backed into a corner when tensions are already high between the clubs.
Nevertheless, both clubs will mutually benefit, at least from a financial perspective, if they can overcome the final obstacles over the coming days.
What has Maresca said?
During his press conference on Friday, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was inevitably asked about the situation, acknowledging that Gallagher remains out of his plans.
The Italian said: "He will not be involved in this game because he is trying to find a solution with the club, so we will see what happens."
On Felix, he added: "At this moment, the club knows exactly what I think in terms of what we need", having refused to comment on Felix specifically. body check tags ::
