Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Joao Felix on loan for the rest of the season from Atletico Madrid.
The 23-year-old, who moved to Atletico from Benfica in the summer of 2019, is Chelsea’s fourth January signing after Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.
Speaking about his loan move, the Portugal international said to Chelsea.com: “Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives.
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“I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge.”
The Athletic previously reported that Chelsea had reached a verbal agreement with Atletico over a loan deal for Joao Felix.
The Premier League side are expected to pay in the region of €11million (£9.68m), which is below what their La Liga counterparts initially wanted.
Chelsea had to beat off interest from Arsenal and Manchester United to secure the signing, with Joao Felix having been attracted by their project.
The versatile forward has made 131 appearances for Atletico, scoring 34 goals, providing 18 assists and winning La Liga in the 2020-21 season.
Joao Felix, who made his international debut in 2019, made four appearances during the World Cup in Qatar, netting once and assisting twice to help his nation reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Graham Potter’s side are next in action against Fulham in the Premier League on Thursday.
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Joao Felix plugs a hole, but is it enough to turn around Chelsea?
(Photo: Getty Images)
