Chelsea close to beating Arsenal and Man Utd to loan signing of La Liga playmaker

Chelsea are reportedly ‘close’ to landing Atletico Madrid ace Joao Felix. The attacking midfielder is poised to join the London club on a loan deal until the end of the season.

BBC Sport claim fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester United have shown ‘interest’ in getting him this month. However, the player’s preference is a temporary switch to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have been busy so far in this January transfer window as Graham Potter looks to put his own stamp on the squad. The team has lacked creativity on the pitch over recent games and will be hoping Felix can inject more quality into their ranks ahead of the second-half of the campaign.

The Portugal international, who is 23-years-old, was at the World Cup last month in Qatar. He has been on the books at Atletico Madrid since 2019 and has scored 34 goals in 131 games for them in all competitions. The playmaker played for Diego Simeone’s side only last night as they narrowly lost 1-0 at home to Barcelona.

Prior to his move to the Metropolitano Stadium, he rose up through the youth ranks at Benfica before going on to fire 20 goals in 43 outings for their first-team as a youngster. That earned him his big transfer to La Liga but his career has stalled a bit now.

Chelsea will be hoping they can get the best out of him under Potter. Arsenal and United will have to look elsewhere for possible incomings between now and the end of the month.