Joao Felix: Chelsea sign forward on loan from Atletico Madrid
Chelsea have signed Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix on loan for the rest of the season.
Arsenal and Manchester United had been linked with the 23-year-old but he favoured a move to the Blues.
The Portugal international has also signed a one-year extension to his Atletico contract through to the summer of 2027.
“Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives,” said Felix.
“I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge.”
Atletico made Felix the fifth most expensive player in history when they paid Benfica £113m for the then 19-year-old in 2019.
He has gone on to score 34 goals in 131 appearances in all competitions, with 18 assists.
Felix was part of the Portugal squad at the World Cup and scored one goal in five outings at the tournament as his country reached the quarter-finals.
Since then, he has played for Atletico twice, scoring in a 2-0 win against Elche on 29 December before playing 73 minutes in a 1-0 defeat by Barcelona on Sunday.
Felix has scored five goals and provided three assists for Atletico in 20 games this season.
He follows Benoit Badiashile , David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos in joining Chelsea during the January transfer window, and signs with the club 10th in the Premier League – 10 points adrift of a top-four spot.
They are also out of both cup competitions after losing 4-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
That made it six defeats in nine games in all competitions though boss Graham Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in September, retains the support of the club’s board.
