Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have agreed terms for the loan of Portuguese striker Joao Felix until the end of the current season. The 23 years-old flew to London on Tuesday and signed a contract valid until the the summer. Chelsea will pay Atletico Madrid a loan fee of €11 million and will also cover the full salary until June 2023, but the Blues were unable to secure an option to buy Felix permanently at the end of his loan spell. Before leaving Spain, Joao Felix also extended his agreement with Atletico until 2027 (the previous one was valid until 2026).
Joao Felix is considered one of the best talents of European soccer but his relationship with Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone got worse in the past months and led the two sides to find a new club for the player. The Spanish club signed Felix in the summer 2019 from Benfica after they triggered the release clause of €120 million. Three and a half years later, Joao Felix leaves Spanish soccer after scoring 34 goals in 131 matches with Atletico Madrid, hoping to find new motivation in the Premier League.
Chelsea were looking for a striker after multiple injuries in that part of the roster and the disappointing performances in the first part of the season so far. In fact, in the Premier League Chelsea only scored twenty goals in seventeen matches up to now and coach Graham Potter definitely needed a new player in that position of the pitch. Joao Felix can bring to their club more creativity in that part of the field, something that is now definitely missing. It won’t be easy for Joao Felix to have an immediate impact on a new league, a new club with a new coach. However, both sides needed each other in this moment. Joao Felix needed a club and a manager like Chelsea that are ready to give him the keys to drive the attacking line, while Chelsea also needed a player like Joao Felix to turn around a very complicated season. Time will tell us if that was the right move for both of them.