Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Portuguese international Joao Félix from La Liga giants Atlético Madrid on a loan deal, according to a report in The Athletic.
Joao Félix, who has been strongly linked with a move away from Atlético Madrid in the January transfer window, will eventually join another club. The star of the Portugal national soccer team had also attracted transfer interest from Manchester United and Arsenal.
Joao Félix, whom Atlético de Madrid made their expensive signing when they acquired his services from Benfica in 2019, has played for the Spanish team since then. Félix, who was part of the Portugal soccer team that participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has featured in 20 games for Atlético Madrid so far in the 22/23 season. Of those 20 games, he played in 11 as a starter and in the rest he came off the bench as a substitute.
Joao Félix has also scored five goals with Atlético de Madrid in the current 22/23 season. The 23-year-old has also racked up three assists for the La Liga side in the current season.
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Chelsea expected to pay a loan fee in the region of €11m to sign Joao Félix
Athletic report that Chelsea are expected to pay a loan fee of around €11m to sign Joao Félix from Atlético Madrid. That rate is lower than what Atlético de Madrid initially wanted. However, an agreement has not yet been signed.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are looking to bolster their squad in the January transfer window and are expected to make more signings.
The Blues are currently struggling with form and sit 10th in the Premier League points table. Chelsea have 25 points in 17 games in the English top flight in the 22/23 season.
The west London outfit is 19 points behind Arsenal, who are top of the table with 44 points from 17 games. Chelsea are also as close to the relegation zone as they are to the closest place in the top four.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have also been knocked out of the FA Cup and EFL Cup by Manchester City. However, they are still in contention for the Champions League title, where they qualified for the round of 16, where they will face Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will face Fulham in a Premier League game in their next game. The match between Chelsea and Fulham kicks off on January 13 at 1:30am Indian Standard Time.