Chelsea announced, on Wednesday, that it had signed Portuguese striker Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the current season.
British media reported that Chelsea would pay around 10 million euros ($10.75 million) to buy Felix.
The 23-year-old has struggled for consistency this season and has appeared in seven out of 16 league matches. Reuters reported that he had five goals and three assists in 20 matches in all competitions.
Felix scored once in five World Cup matches as Portugal were knocked out in the quarter-finals. He started in Atletico’s 1-0 home defeat by LaLiga leaders Barcelona on Sunday and was substituted after 73 minutes.
“Chelsea is one of the greatest teams in the world and I hope to help the team achieve its goals so I am very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge,” Felix said in a club statement.
Felix became the fourth most expensive player of all time when he joined Atlético for €126m from Benfica in 2019 as a teenager.
A versatile striker, Felix can play as a forward, attacking midfielder or on the wings but has struggled to live up to his price tag since moving to Spain. He scored 34 goals in 131 matches for Atlético, winning the 2020-21 league title.
Chelsea were already active in the January transfer window, bringing in Benoit Badiachel, Davide Datro Fofana and Andre Santos.
Felix will strengthen his injury-hit squad and enhance his options in attack with the removal of Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Graham Potter’s side have scored just 20 goals in 17 Premier League games so far and are in 10th place, 10 points off the top four.
Chelsea have lost five of their last seven matches in all competitions and have been eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup. They returned to action at Fulham in the league on Thursday.
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