23-year-old forward left out of squad for tonight’s game amid rumours of Chelsea wanting to sign him

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Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix has been left out of their squad to face Real Oviedo in the Copa del Ray.

The Portugal international has been widely reported to be pushing for a move away from the La Liga side, with them looking to find a resolution this month.

Chelsea are one of the clubs who have been exploring the opportunity to sign him, with a loan move looking the most likely to secure in January.

However, they are reported to face competition from some of the top sides in the Premier League. This includes Manchester United and Arsenal, who are sitting pretty at the top of the league.

All three sides however are currently seeming to fall at a similar roadblock.

Reports have claimed that the fee Atletico are requesting for a loan spell is far higher than any of them, including high-spending Chelsea, want to pay.

Felix left out of Atletico squad

This could see them miss out on signing a player who is certainly threatening to break out as a big star.

His career has perhaps not hit the heights it had threatened when he moved for an extortionate amount of money from Benfica.

The 23-year-old has obviously tried to address this. He was an impressive member of the Portugal side who probably underperformed at the World Cup in Qatar.

Now though, to further enforce his desire to reach his potential, he is looking for a way out of the Metropolitano.

Diego Simeone’s side could be in the process of honouring this request, and news that he won’t feature in tonight’s match despite the rest of the first team being picked leans heavily into that.

The Blues are in the middle of a very busy January, and competing the deals they intend to as well as Felix is looking like a stretch.