Joao Felix's move to Chelsea has officially been confirmed with the Atletico Madrid forward joining on loan until the end of the season.
The Blues have stumped up £9m to land the Portugal international and will pay the entirety of his £250,000-a-week salary during his five-month stint at Stamford Bridge - roughly amounting to a further £5m. It's also understood the deal does not include an option to buy clause.
Felix arrived in London, along with his stunning influencer girlfriend, on Tuesday to complete his medical and is expected to be available for Sunday's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.
On the move, Felix said: "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."
Graham Potter's side are desperate for a little invention up front, particularly given Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's poor form, and see Felix as an ideal short-term stopgap, with RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku joining in the summer.
Chelsea ramped up their interest in Felix after Raheem Sterling injured his hamstring against Manchester City last week to join the likes of N'Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana on the treatment table, and acted swiftly to beat Arsenal and Manchester United to his signature.
United, who are looking to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, were reportedly put off by the £9m loan fee and have instead turned their attention to Burnley striker Wout Weghorst. Arsenal meanwhile are seeking attacking reinforcements following Gabriel Jesus' injury, but are understood to be prioritising their pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
Despite a strong showing at the 2022 World Cup, Felix hasn't been in the best of form recently after reportedly falling out with Atletico manager Diego Simeone. Having subsequently fallen down the pecking order at the Wanda Metropolitano, the 23-year-old has started just seven times in La Liga this season and is expected to quit the club in the summer.
The 2019 Golden Boy winner has struggled to justify his mammoth £113m price tag since leaving Benfica three-and-a-half years ago, though given his flamboyant playing style and varied skillset, shining in Simeone's traditionally safety first setup was always going to be a tough ask.
At Stamford Bridge, Felix has the chance to reinvent himself and rekindle some of the old magic that saw him tipped to be football's next big thing a few years ago, but then again, given the success rate of Chelsea's attacking imports in the last few years, would anyone be that surprised if he didn't?
