Chelsea have completed the loan signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid until the end of the season. The Portuguese forward joins David Datro Fofana and Benoit Badiashile in moving to Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window.
Todd Boehly spent over £250million in his first summer transfer window as Chelsea co-owner after completing a £4billion takeover at Stamford Bridge last year. The Blues have struggled on the pitch this season and find themselves languishing down in 10th position in the Premier League table.
Graham Potter now has the chance to add players that fit into his philosophy after inheriting Thomas Tuchel's squad back in September. Felix has become Chelsea's second loan signing of the season after the Blues completed a deal to take Denis Zakaria from Juventus until the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
READ MORE: Joao Felix's first words on Chelsea transfer as Atletico Madrid loan move confirmed
"Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives, so I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge," Felix told the official Chelsea website upon completing his switch to Stamford Bridge. A deal for Enzo Fernandez looks to be unlikely after he appears to have hinted at staying with Benfica.
There is one glaring problem in Potter's squad that need fixing by Boehly in the January transfer window - a new right-back. Reece James has been sidelined for almost half the season following a knee injury he suffered during a Champions League group stage clash against AC Milan back in October.
The injury saw James miss out on the chance of being included in Gareth Southgate's England World Cup squad, before he aggravated his knee issue upon his return to the first team in the win against Bournemouth last month. The 23-year-old's importance to the Blues cannot be underestimated, with the defender proving to be one of the most creative players in the team moving forward whilst offering solid defensive cover at the back.
Boehly must find a capable back-up option for James - especially since the England international is set to be out for a number of weeks. Josip Juranovic, Nahuel Molina and Denzel Dumfries have all received interest from Chelsea with Sporting defender Pedro Porro the latest promising right-back to be scouted as a possible option for the Blues.
Porro is a target for London rivals Tottenham in January with the Spaniard reportedly having a £39.7million release clause in his contract. Sporting manager Ruben Amorim revealed that the only way Porro will be sold in January is if a club activates his release clause.
"What I was told is that he can only leave if the clause is triggered. And if the clause is triggered, there is nothing we can do," Amorim said in a press conference in December.
Chelsea would be wise to invest their money into a capable right-back to fill the void left by James' absence if they are to have any chance of reclaiming a top four spot come the end of the season. A new central midfielder is also on the agenda, but the imbalance in defence without James is much more of an issue right now for Potter and it needs addressing in January.
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