Chelsea could reportedly offer out-of-favour duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marc Cucurella to Atletico Madrid as part of their efforts to sign Joao Felix permanently.
The Blues fended off interest from Manchester United and Arsenal to bring Felix to the Premier League in January, striking a loan deal with Atletico until the end of the season.
Chelsea forked out €11m (£9.6m) to prise Felix away from the Wanda Metropolitano, although his temporary agreement does not include an option or obligation to buy.
However, the 23-year-old has only managed three goals and zero assists in 17 games for Chelsea, who are languishing in 11th place in the Premier League table.
Felix has also failed to make the starting lineup in any of Chelsea's last four Premier League matches, earning just six minutes off the bench in Saturday's win at Bournemouth.
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Despite an underwhelming set of numbers, Chelsea chiefs are believed to have been impressed enough with Felix's contribution and are keen to convert his loan deal into a permanent switch.
According to the Evening Standard, the Blues are in constant contact with Atletico over ways to keep the Portugal international at Stamford Bridge, but Diego Simeone's side are proving to be difficult negotiators.
With Felix still contracted to Atletico until 2027, having extended his deal just before leaving for London, the Rojiblancos are supposedly holding out for a fee of £88m to let him leave permanently.
Alternatively, the La Liga giants would be prepared to let Felix go out on loan for the 2023-24 season, although they would be looking for an increased fee of £16m to sanction another temporary move.
Felix himself is believed to be keen on leaving Atletico for good, though, as his relationship with head coach Simeone allegedly deteriorated towards the end of last year, and Chelsea could therefore try to drive the price down by including a pair of unwanted summer signings.
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The report states that Atletico have expressed an interest in signing both Aubameyang and Cucurella, whose first seasons in West London have not gone according to plan.
Aubameyang made a swift exit from Barcelona to reunite with Thomas Tuchel, only for the ex-Borussia Dortmund manager to be sacked by the Blues a few weeks later, and the Gabon international has scored just three goals this season too.
Aubameyang has announced his desire to return to Barcelona, but the Catalan giants are currently prioritising a reunion with Lionel Messi and must free up £175m worth of wages in order to facilitate the Argentine's homecoming.
Meanwhile, Spanish left-back Cucurella has set up two goals in 33 matches across all competitions, but he has faced persistent criticism and has also been sidelined for the past few weeks with a muscular injury, allowing Ben Chilwell to nail down a starting role again.
Whether incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino would give the green light to a permanent deal for Felix remains to be seen, but the 51-year-old is believed to have earmarked a new forward as one of his first priorities for the summer.
Ben Knapton
