I’ve been speaking to a number of Chelsea fans gauging sentiment on the deal to bring Joao Félix on loan from Atlético Madrid for the remainder of the season, and I have to say I’ve noticed a rather divided response.
Many are happy, some are unhappy, and some are somewhere in between. The fact is, there are certainly a lot of pros and a lot of cons to this deal, and blues fans are generally split.
As you can see in Fabrizio Romano’s report below, the deal is quite expensive for five months, and Chelsea are also paying his salary in full and they don’t have an agreed purchase option. Félix also extended his contract with Atlético for one more season before joining.
João Félix to Chelsea, here we come! A full verbal agreement has been reached, loan move at a fee of €11m with 100% of salary covered by Chelsea. ???????? #CFC
Before leaving, JF will extend his contract with Atléti until 2027.
João will fly to London in the next few hours to pass the medical tests and sign. pic.twitter.com/F5aYKMgspa
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 10, 2023
Naturally, all of the above raises concerns. There are a lot of risks here and there is also the possibility that Chelsea won’t manage to sign him in the summer and if they do, it could still be very expensive.
But for me, the proof will be in the pudding of this one. If he comes in now and gets 10-15 goals and assists for the rest of the season, which might actually be even a very optimistic claim, then he’ll turn out to be a very good signing nonetheless. Chelsea have clearly reacted to attacking injuries here, and that’s a good thing.
I can see all the angles here though, but I really think if he really improves our team and comes in and helps with some goals and assists, it will be a good call.
He’s also apparently very interested in making the move and has done it pretty quickly, so that’s a good sign. Let’s just hope he can have a positive impact and make Chelsea better, which, let’s face it, isn’t hard to do at the moment!
