Chelsea have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the permanent signing of Portugal forward Joao Felix.
The 24-year-old has agreed personal terms on a six-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months.
The Athletic reported last week that the Premier League club had opened talks with their La Liga counterparts regarding a deal to sign Joao Felix. That came as Atletico striker Samu Omorodion’s proposed move to Stamford Bridge appeared to collapse due to problems finalising the Spaniard’s contract.
Joao Felix previously spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, scoring four goals in 20 appearances for the Premier League club. He then spent last term on loan at Barcelona, registering 10 goals and six assists in 44 games.
Before joining Barcelona, Joao Felix extended his Atletico contract which now runs until June 2029. He joined Atletico from Benfica in the summer of 2019 for €126m and has scored 34 goals in 131 matches for the Spanish side. Earlier on Monday, Joao Felix was named in the Atletico travelling squad for their opening La Liga game at Villarreal.
Joao Felix was a regular at Barcelona last season but returned to Atletico following his loan spell (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Joao Felix has been capped 41 times by Portugal and made two appearances for his country at the European Championship before returning to Atletico for pre-season.
He would become Chelsea’s ninth summer signing, following the arrivals of Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley, Aaron Anselmino and Pedro Neto.
Chelsea and Atletico remain in discussions regarding a separate deal for Conor Gallagher.
Chelsea opened up the new Premier League season with a 2-0 defeat by champions Manchester City. They begin their Conference League campaign against Servette on Thursday before facing Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
(Top photo: Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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