Cristiano Ronaldo has already made his thoughts on Chelsea-bound star Joao Felix clear - while Felix's former teammate and Chelsea loanee Saul Niguez is also a fan.
Felix, 23, has been linked with a move to various Premier League teams on loan this winter with his fractured relationship with Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone failing to heal. The Portugal forward has started just seven La Liga games for Atletico this season and is looking for more regular game time elsewhere.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have been the three teams most prominently linked with a move for his signature, with Atleti looking for a £9.7million loan fee to grant a six-month move. It appears Chelsea have won that race and football.london understands the Blues have a verbal agreement in place to sign the 23-year-old.
READ MORE: Chelsea shirt numbers available to Joao Felix ahead of six-month £9.7m loan move
Former Manchester United striker Ronaldo - who was linked with a move to Chelsea last year - has already praised Felix in a glowing recommendation.
Ronaldo said upon Felix's move to Atletico Madrid in 2019: "Can he [Felix] repeat my successes in Spain? I believe that a lot because he is an excellent player with a lot of potential who can evolve.
"You can see the same with Bernardo [Silva], although he is already much more mature in this regard. It is difficult to make calculations in current football.
"You bet a lot on the potential, and the football industry is different. Leaving aside the case of Joao Felix, any player is worth £88m, even without having proven anything.
"There is more money in football. A central [defender] and a goalkeeper can be worth £61m to £70m. I don't agree, but this is the world we live in, and we have to respect it."
Felix and Ronaldo are teammates for Portugal while Niguez has played with the former Benfica attacker domestically for Atleti. The pair won the La Liga title together in 2021.
"Joao Felix is getting more playing time than Ivan Saponjic, but the same goes for him as the other lads," Niguez said when Felix joined the club two years prior. "He's always working hard in training, he's a very strong guy when it comes to holding off defenders and creating space, and he has great movement in the box."
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