Chelsea Signs Atletico Madrid Forward Joao Felix on Loan

The 23-year-old Portuguese international heads to London on loan for the remainder of the season.

Chelsea has officially announced the signing of Atlético Madrid forward João Félix on loan through the end of the season.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Chelsea will pay around €11 million ($11.8 million) for the six-month loan after fighting off interest from Manchester United and Arsenal—the deal reportedly does not include an option to buy at the end of the season. Atlético Madrid also confirmed Félix signed a contract extension through the 2027 season. 

In 2019, when he won the Golden Boy award, Félix joined Atlético from Benfica in a €126 million deal as he was heralded as one of the world’s top prospects. Now 23, the Portuguese international has struggled under Diego Simeone with five goals and three assists this season, while the club’s president recently confirmed that Félix’s relationship with longtime Atlético manager has broken down. However, the forward impressed for Portugal at the World Cup with a goal and two assists in Qatar. 

After breaking the record for spending by a Premier League club in one window over the summer, Chelsea has already added Molde forward David Datro Fofana and Monaco defender Benoît Badiashile in the winter, while also securing the arrival of RB Leipzig star forward Christopher Nkunku for this summer. 

However, the heavy spending and hiring of a new coach in September has not slowed the club’s struggles. Chelsea has been eliminated from the League Cup and FA Cup and currently sits in 10th place in the Premier League, 10 points behind a top-four spot. It will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 next month. 

Along with the club’s poor run of form, Félix arrives at a critical time for the Blues after Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic were each injured in the first half of last week’s league loss to Man City, with Pulisic set to miss several weeks due to a knee injury.

Chelsea has struggled to score this season—Man City’s Erling Haaland has scored more league goals than all of Chelsea—and currently sits 12th in the league with 20 goals from 17 matches.