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Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Joāo Felix on loan from Atlético Madrid.
Manchester United and Arsenal had also expressed interest in signing the Portuguese international, but he chose Stamford Bridge having been excited by the project under Graham Potter.
Atlético had been looking for a package of nearly £19 million to let him go, comprising £12.4 loan fee plus £6.2 million in salary, but the expected deal will be less than that.
Felix was signed from Benfica in 2019 for a fee of £113 million, but has only shown glimpses of the form that persuaded Atlético to pay that much money for him.
He has been employed in a variety of positions this season, and has five goals and three assists in 20 club appearances, but his relationship with manager Diego Simeone has almost completely broken down, and it is better for all concerned if he leaves the club.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.