Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix is on loan at Chelsea until the summer. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic (subscription required), Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan.
The deal has not been signed yet, but the Blues are expected to pay a fee in the region of €11 million. It is well below what Atleti wanted. The Spanish side were seeking something around €21 million, comprising of €15m loan fee plus €6m gross salary.
Felix has been linked with two other Premier League clubs in the recent past – Arsenal and Manchester United. But, the Chelsea project has attracted his interest, hence the verbal agreement.
The report also reveals that if everything goes to plan, Chelsea will complete the signing of Felix and straightaway look at other deals. They are focused on strengthening the forward line now.
The Blues have already done some business this month with the arrival of defender Benoit Badiashile, striker David Datro Fofana and midfielder Andrey Santos. Felix is close to becoming the fourth addition and we are still in early January.
Felix is a versatile forward who is comfortable playing either as a number nine or a number 10. He can play on the left wing as well if required. The Portugal international, who had an excellent World Cup, has been on the fringes of things at Atleti under Diego Simeone.
Chelsea have struggled to produce enough quality in the final third to score goals and hurt opponents this season. Injuries have not helped the cause as well. While goal-scoring was hard before the World Cup, three goals in four games since the restart isn’t encouraging.
So, while Felix is not an out-and-out striker, he has the quality to score goals, create chances and be that menace in the final third that can terrorise defences. Right now, we could do with anyone who knows how to score or create goals. Such is the desperation of the situation!
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