Chelsea sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid

Chelsea have completed the signing of Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea defeated Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal to the signing of the Portugal forward, with neither side willing to pay the €11m (£9.69m) loan fee plus wages.

Atletico had earlier said Felix agreed to extend his deal with the Spanish club by one year taking his deal up until June 2027.

Speaking on the move on Wednesday, Felix said: “Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives, so I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge.”

He travelled to London on Tuesday to undergo a medical ahead of joining Chelsea for the rest of the season.

The 23-year-old forward becomes Chelsea’s fourth signing of the month following the arrivals of Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, and Andrey Santos.

On his part, Chelsea manager, Graham Potter, said: “He’s a quality player. He can make a difference in the final third. He is young but has a lot of really good experience. He’s a quality player that brings everyone a lift.”

Asked whether the deal had been planned, Potter responded: “We’ve been aware of it for a while. The injuries have maybe sharpened the focus of the club.

“It is nice to get him here and training today. We will see him for the game on Thursday.

“From a physical perspective, he can go in. It’s always a little bit of an unknown period as he is going from one club to another, but that’s on a case-to-case basis.”

Joao Felix joined Atletico from Benfica in a €126m (£111m) deal in 2019.

The Star