CHELSEA are on the verge of signing Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan for the rest of the season, according to reports in both Spain and England.
The English club and the Spanish outfit have reportedly reached full agreement on the terms of the deal, and Felix should be in London in the next 24 hours.
The Portugal international has fallen out of favour at the La Liga club after costing them €127 million in July 2019 to take him from Benfica.
The 23-year-old forward played for Portugal at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, scoring one goal in five appearances at the tournament.
Felix reportedly attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester United but both clubs could not meet Atletico Madrid’s financial demands for a short-term loan deal.
The six-month loan deal is expected to cost Chelsea around €11m and they will still cover his full salary.
Felix is also believed to prefer a move to Chelsea, who have added more than 10 players to their squad this season, including Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka, Dennis Zakaria, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Datro Fofana.
Despite having signed so many players, Chelsea’s squad is currently thin due to several injuries to key stars and owner Todd Boehly is keen to strengthen the playing staff.
The Blues have struggled under Graham Potter, falling to 10th spot in the Premier League and getting thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Felix has played for Atletico twice since returning from the World Cup, where Portugal were beaten at the quarter-final stage by Morocco.
He scored in a 2-0 win against Elche on December 29 before playing 73 minutes in a 1-0 defeat by Barcelona on Sunday.
Felix has scored five goals and provided three assists for the club in 20 appearances this season.
Overall at Atletico, he has played 131 times, registering 34 goals and 18 assists.
