Joao Felix has officially signed with Chelsea on a permanent deal worth £44.5m

Chelsea have announced the signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid, with the Portugal international signing a seven-year contract.

The 24-year-old forward, who scored four goals in 20 appearances across all competitions while on loan with the Blues during the second half of the 2022–2023 season, returned to Barcelona for a brief stint the following year.

He joins Omari Kellyman, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Viega, Caleb Wiley and Pedro Neto as new arrivals at Stamford Bridge this summer.

The Athletic report the fee is worth approximately £44.5m, with Atleti securing a sell-on clause.

"I am really happy to be back at Chelsea and I can not wait to get started," he said to the Chelsea website. I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.

I loved my time here before and I told my friends and family that I'd love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling and I'm excited to be back."

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Atleti paid a staggering €126 million (£113 million) to sign Felix in 2019, which is the fourth-highest transfer fee ever. Felix only managed 34 goals in 131 appearances, far from making up for the huge outlay. Despite a falling out with former manager Diego Simeone, he managed ten goals for Barcelona in the previous season.

Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa had previously been keen on a deal, with manager Unai Emery an admirer of the former Benfica prodigy.

Conor Gallagher's move to Spain was also confirmed on Wednesday, and his return to west London is the latest development in the Chelsea and Atleti relationship.

Felix is another creative option for manager Enzo Maresca in the final third. Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer started on the wings in Chelsea's Premier League opener against Manchester City, with Enzo Fernandez featuring in the number 10 position behind striker Nicolas Jackson.

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