Joao Felix Chelsea shirt number options after £42m transfer as iconic option available

Joao Felix is close to returning to Chelsea on a permanent basis after the club reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid, football.london understands.

Felix is expected to sign a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge after agreeing personal terms with the Blues. The 24-year-old spent the second half of the 2022/23 season, scoring four goals in 20 games.

The Portugal international was offered to Chelsea after Samu Omorodion's proposed move to England collapsed. Conor Gallagher will move the other way and finally secure his move to Spain after turning down three contract offers from the club.

Felix's move has only intensified the doubts and confusion over Chelsea's spending. When Felix returns to west London, Enzo Maresca will have more options than he would like. Players like Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington and Raheem Sterling are all facing moves away but their spending has continued to split opinion.

A return to Felix coincides after Sterling's controversial statement over the weekend. The winger was left out of the squad for the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City and a statement was shortly released by his representatives asking for "clarity" about his role.

Should the 29-year-old leave Chelsea, Felix could kickstart his permanent stay in England with a dream number. Sterling currently wears number seven, a number that Felix donned from 2019 to 2023 before falling out with Diego Simeone.

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Felix has since had to settle with number 18 at Atleti. In his last spell at Chelsea, the 24-year-old took ownership of the number 11 shirt but Noni Madueke now occupies that number. Elsewhere, number nine is still available after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed last summer.

Big names such as Lukaku, Tammy Abraham, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata and Fernando Torres have all been handed the famous 'No.9'. There have also been players like Steve Sidwell and Khalid Boulahrouz.

At Benfica, Felix donned number 79 on the back of his shirt, a number that was last seen at Chelsea with Ollie Harrison when he was named on the bench under Mauricio Pochettino.

Should Madueke (No.11), Trevoh Chalobah (No.14), Carney Chukwuemeka (No.17) or Ben Chilwell (No.21) depart, Felix could have his pick. Number 23 is also expected to become free when Gallagher moves.