Report: Atletico agree to send Joao Felix on loan to Chelsea for €11M

Chelsea reached an agreement Monday to sign Portuguese forward Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the season, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Chelsea, who beat out competition from Arsenal and Manchester United, are expected to pay Atletico around €11 million to complete the loan deal.

Atletico president Miguel Angel Gil Marin said in December that Felix wanted to leave the club, and reports at the time indicated Atletico were seeking up to €27 million in fees to loan out the player until June 2023. Los Rojiblancos paid a sizeable €126 million to sign Felix, then a promising teenager at Benfica, in 2019, but his progress stalled under manager Diego Simeone, leaving the forward on the periphery of the Argentine's game plan.

Felix played in a number of positions over the last three-and-a-half seasons, including up front and on the wing, but his attacking style of play always seemed to clash with Simeone's idea of defensive football. The manager appeared to lose trust in the 23-year-old as well, and with just four goals in 14 La Liga appearances this season, his performances dropped substantially.

He'll now have a chance to revive his career at Chelsea, where he'll find a head coach who may play to his strengths. Graham Potter prefers to play on the front foot and take the initiative, and his team needs someone like Felix to ramp up its attack. The Blues have scored just three goals in their last seven matches across all competitions, losing five of them.

Felix would also offer relief as Chelsea deal with a number of significant injuries. Center-forward Armando Broja is out for the season with a knee injury, while wingers Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic remain sidelined.

The Portuguese international would become Chelsea's fourth signing of the January transfer window, joining defender Benoit Badiashile, midfielder Andrey Santos, and forward David Datro Fofana.