Chelsea sign Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid

• Chelsea have completed the signing of Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid for a fee of 11 million euros. 
• Joao Felix travelled to London on Tuesday to undergo medical and could be in contention to make his debut for Chelsea against Fulham on Thursday. 

Chelsea have reportedly completed the signing of Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid for a fee of 11 million euros. 

Felix also agreed to sign a one-year contract extension with Atletico Madrid before his loan move to Chelsea was completed on Wednesday.

Chelsea have signed Joao Felix on loan until the end of the 2022-23 season. Photo/ Chelsea Football Club.

The 23-year-old favoured a move to Chelsea at a time when he had been linked with a move to Manchester United and Arsenal. 

However, both Arsenal and Manchester United were not willing to pay the 11 million euros demanded by Atletico Madrid. The two clubs were also not willing to pay his wages, according to Sky Sports. 

Joao Felix will remain with the Blues until the end of the 2022-23 season. The Portugal international is looking forward to helping Chelsea reach their objectives. 

“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.” Joao Felix was quoted by Sky Sports. 

Joao Felix travelled to London on Tuesday to undergo medical. He could be in contention to make his debut for Chelsea against Fulham on Thursday. 

However, Graham Potter is waiting for confirmation to include him in his squad that will face Fulham. Potter described Joao Felix as a quality player that can make a difference in the final third. 

“He’s a quality player. He can make a difference in the final third. He is young but has a lot of really good experience. He’s a quality player that brings everyone a lift. It is nice to get him here and training today. We will see him for the game on Thursday. From a physical perspective, he can go in. It’s always a little bit of an unknown period as he is going from one club to another, but that’s on a case-to-case basis.” Graham Potter said, according to Sky Sports. 

Joao Felix is the fourth signing Chelsea have made in this January transfer window. The other three new signings are David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Andrey Santos. 

Atletico Madrid signed Joao Felix from Benfica in 2019 for 113 million euros, making him the fifth most expensive player of all time. 

The Portuguese forward has scored 34 goals and provided 18 assists in 131 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side. He has scored five goals and provided three assists in 20 games for Atletico Madrid this season. 

Felix was part of Portugal’s squad that played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He scored one goal in five games as his country reached the quarter-finals. 

After the World Cup break, Joao Felix scored once in two games for Atletico Madrid.

Joao Felix. Photo/ Football365.