Chelsea have taken a surprise lead in the race for Joao Felix as they look to solve their goalscoring woes this January and turn their awful form around under Graham Potter.
The Blues fell to a 4-0 mauling to exit the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester City in the third round over the weekend, taking their dismal record under Potter to just one win in their last 8 outings, and have scored just once since a Champions League tie at the beginning of November.
And, with Armando Broja out for the remainder of the season, the Blues have made an early move to bolster their frontline, with the club close to agreeing a deal that will see Joao Felix arrive on loan from Atletico Madrid for the remainder of the season.
Felix has had several fallings out with head coach Diego Simeone over both his gametime and the playing style used by the rojablanca, which has a tendency to minimalise the impact of attackers, opening the door to a potential move away from the Wanda Metropolitano this winter.
Arsenal and Manchester United were also both thought to be interested in the Portuguese forward, but as per the Athletic, ‘Felix is set to opt for Chelsea, having been attracted by their project’. It is thought that the Blues will agree a deal costing around £16m when wages are factored in, along with paying the Spanish side a loan fee of almost £10m.
Felix is the second attacking addition at Stamford Bridge so far this winter, with David Datro Fofana also arriving from Molde at the beginning of the transfer window, though he may be sent out on loan before the end of January. The Blues are expected to continue revitalising their attack, with talks ongoing as they look to beat Arsenal to Ukrainian attacker Mykhaylo Mudryk.
