CHELSEA have completed the loan signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
The Blues have bolstered their forward line by bringing in the Portuguese international on a temporary deal until the end of the season.
Graham Potter’s side have agreed to pay a £10million loan fee to take Felix until the end of the season.
They will also cover the entirety of the player’s wages for the rest of the campaign.
The deal will NOT include an option for Chelsea to make the move permanent, with Atletico having extended his contract by a year to 2027 before allowing the forward to leave.
Felix, 23, also attracted interest from Manchester United and Arsenal this month – but opted to snub both for the Blues.
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The West Londoners won the race for his signature after he was attracted by the project at Stamford Bridge.
Felix said: “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.”
The former Benfica ace joined Atletico in a bumper £112m deal in 2019.
He has made 131 appearances for Atleti, scoring 34 goals.
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Felix’s relationship with boss Diego Simeone turned sour this season, prompting him to seek a January exit.
He was spotted driving to the airport this morning as he headed to London to seal a deal.
His £250,000-a-week salary sees him become Chelsea’s joint-fourth top earner.
The new recruit’s wages are level with Reece James’, but behind the £325k deal earned by Raheem Sterling, £310k given to Kai Havertz and £295k pocketed each week by Kalidou Koulibaly.
Felix has started both of Atletico’s LaLiga matches since the World Cup.
He scored in the 2-0 victory over Elche on December 29, before playing 73 minutes of Atleti’s fiery 1-0 defeat by Barcelona at the weekend.
Chelsea have already been busy this month, spending over £60m on Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.
The Blues’ forward line will be further boosted by the summer arrival of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig in a £53m deal.
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Having missed out on Felix, Man United are set to prioritise their move for Dutch forward Wout Weghorst.
While Arsenal remain keen on Mykhailo Mudryk.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
