Joao Felix, a Portuguese forward who joined Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid, will play for the club for the rest of the season.
The Portuguese attacker was signed by the Blues ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, who were both unwilling to pay the €11 million (£9.69 million) loan fee plus salary.
Felix might be in line to make his Chelsea debut against Fulham on Thursday night, but Blues manager Graham Potter stated the team is still waiting for word on Felix’s eligibility for the west London derby.
On Felix, Potter said: “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.”
When asked if the transaction had been arranged, Potter replied: “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.”
Prior to moving to the Spanish city in the summer of 2019, the 23-year-old played for Benfica in his native Portugal.
Joao Felix is a skilled and fashionable attacker who performs best while moving fluidly across the forward line and participating in build-up play.
Joao Felix commented on his loan to Chelsea by saying: ‘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.’
Joao Felix played for the Atletico team that won La Liga two years ago, and in his first season with Benfica as a teenager, he also won the league.
The Portuguese international has received individual recognition in addition to team success, and the 2019 Golden Boy award named him the greatest young player in Europe.
The club’s supporters also selected him as Atleti Player of the Season in the previous campaign.
Joao Felix contributed two assists throughout the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and scored an important goal in Portugal’s 3-2 victory over Ghana in the tournament’s first match. He has 28 caps to his name so far.
According to Atletico, Felix has decided to extend his agreement with the Spanish club by one year, bringing the total length of his contract to June 2027.
Joao Felix
Joao Félix Sequeira, a forward for Premier League Club Chelsea and the Portugal national team, was born on November 10, 1999, in Portugal. He is a professional football player.
Initially receiving his training at Porto’s junior academy, Félix transferred to rivals Benfica in 2015. A year after joining the latter’s reserve squad, he was promoted to the first team, where he made his debut at the age of 17.
In his first and only season with Benfica, he contributed to the team’s league championship and was recognized with the Golden Boy and Best Young Player of the Year awards in the Primeira Liga.
Félix joined Atlético Madrid in 2019 at the age of 19, for a club record transfer fee of €126 million (£113 million), making it the second-most money ever spent on a teenager and the fourth-most expensive football transfer overall. It was also the highest fee ever paid for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league.
He contributed to the team’s 2020–21 La Liga championship, ending the club’s seven-year league title drought.
Former young international for Portugal, Félix competed at the under-18, under-19, and under-21 levels.
In the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals semifinals, he received his first senior national team cap as his country won the competition’s inaugural season on home soil.
