Chelsea manager Graham Potter admits he hasn’t even considered the possibility of Joao Felix remaining at Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis.

There is no option to buy in the Portuguese international’s loan deal and, asked whether the player could remain in London beyond the end of the season, Potter replied:

“It’s not something I’ve thought about, to be honest.”

It is not a surprising response from Potter as there are a couple of big factors that will determine Felix’s future at the Blues.

Firstly, the 23-year-old will have to play well enough between now and May for the club to want to keep him. A few impressive performances won’t be sufficient to convince Chelsea that he is worth the sizeable outlay.

That leads us on to the second factor. Felix’s parent club Atletico Madrid are likely to demand in excess of €100m (£89m) for the striker, and considering the Blues’ spending spree since last summer, they may have to offload a few players first before they can afford him.