OFFICIAL: Chelsea sign Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid

Chelsea have completed the signing of Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid, the club has announced.

Joao Felix’s departure from Atleti was likely during the January transfer window because of a strained relationship with head coach Diego Simeone, yet it was placed in doubt because of the sizeable demands of the Spanish side, who wanted a significant loan fee for the player as well as his wages off the books.

Initially, Manchester United and Arsenal were considered the front runners to land the Portugal international, who had been compared to Cristiano
Ronaldo in his younger days, but it is Chelsea who have won the race for the 23-year-old.

In a statement, the Blues have confirmed: “Portuguese attacker Joao Felix will be part of the Chelsea squad for the remainder of the season, having moved to Stamford Bridge on loan from Atletico Madrid.”

Joao Felix commented on the move: “Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives, so I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge.”

Chelsea have been chasing reinforcements during this transfer window in a bid to bring some momentum to their season following a difficult run of results under Graham Potter.

In particular, their attack has come under question, with Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner leaving the club in summer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggling to make any kind of positive impression and Kai Havertz still toiling to justify his massive price tag.