Chelsea Secures Permanent Signing of Joao Felix from Atlético Madrid

Chelsea has reportedly reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid for the permanent signing of Portuguese attacker Joao Felix, according to renowned journalist David Ornstein. The 24-year-old, who has been on Chelsea's radar for some time, is set to join the Blues on a six-year contract with an option to extend for an additional 12 months.

This move marks a significant acquisition for Chelsea, as Felix is regarded as one of European football's most talented young forwards. His ability to play across the front line and his creative flair make him a valuable addition to the squad.

Personal terms between Chelsea and Felix have already been agreed upon, paving the way for the finalization of the transfer. The deal represents a long-term commitment from both the player and the club, with Félix expected to play a key role in Chelsea's attacking plans for the foreseeable future.

Felix's arrival will bolster Chelsea's offensive options, providing the team with a versatile and dynamic player capable of making an immediate impact in the Premier League. As the deal progresses, fans will eagerly await the official announcement and Felix's debut in the famous blue shirt.

This transfer will likely speed the exit of Raheem Sterling and one more winger, either Madueke or Mudryk, could also leave the club.

Joao Felix was on loan at Chelsea during the 2022/2023 season and during the crisis Chelsea had at that time. Felix was among the best players, he wasn't afraid to take a shot, dribble past defenders and was a bright spark during the dark days.

Joao Felix highlights during his Chelsea spell

Despite many fans claiming that Chelsea are forced to sign him, it's not the case as they wanted to bring him permanently last season, but Pochettino wasn't fond of the Portuguese forward and didn't approve the transfer.

Joao Felix has the potential to become as influential for Chelsea as Mohamed Salah is for Liverpool

Joao Felix is not a traditional winger or striker, but he is an attacking-minded and proper forward with excellent dribbling skills and shooting ability that could be a constant threat to any defence.

When Felix left Benfica for Atletico in 2019, he was considered the biggest planet on earth, but he hasn't come close to those expectations. He is still 24, Mohamed Salah was 25 when he moved to Liverpool.

We compared Felix to a few players in similar positions - Luis Diaz, Phil Foden, Gabriel Martinelli, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka and Jamal Musiala.

Player compared to positional peers in Men's Big 5 Leagues, UCL, and UEL over the last 365 days. We looked at several stats - Non-Penalty Goals, npxG: Non-Penalty xG, Shots Total, Assists, xAG: Exp. Assisted Goals and npxG + xAG.

Joao Felix dominated in 3 categories:
- npxG: Non-Penalty xG with 0.49 per 90 min and 99 percentile.
- Shots Total - 3.68 per 90 min and 96 percentile.
- npxG + xAG - 0.66 per 90 min and 95 percentile.
- only Phil Foden had more Non-Penalty Goals (0.62 per 90 and 99 percentile), and Joao Felix was 2nd with 0.47 per 90 and 95 percentile.
- Saka had the most assists - 0.35 per 90 with 88 percentile.

These stats suggest that Felix could be a valuable player and bring more chances and goals to the Chelsea attack. Just don't expect many assists from him.

The term "percentile" refers to the position of a value within a dataset when that dataset is arranged in ascending order. Specifically, a percentile indicates the percentage of data points that fall below a particular value. Here’s a breakdown of what it suggests:

• If a value is at the 50th percentile, it means that 50% of the data points are below that value.

• Similarly, if a value is at the 90th percentile, 90% of the data points are below it, and 10% are above.