The Portuguese international looks set to feature in the English capital after Chelsea reportedly have secured a verbal agreement with the player.

Given their struggles over the past few months - which have seen them slump to a dismal tenth spot in the Premier League, Chelsea have been desperate to turn their fortunes around. The arrival of Graham Potter has not had the results Blues fans would have liked to see, and this was exemplified by the team's humiliating 4-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday.

To that end, the floundering London giants have been seeking some much needed reinforcements. So far, they have secured the signatures of Davide Datro Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, and now, new reports indicate that they will also be adding Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix to their squad.

Felix, who was signed for a whopping $135 million (€126 million/£113 million) in 2019 from Benfica, has struggled to meet expectations since moving to Spain. While he has netted 34 goals in 131 appearances across all competitions for Diego Simeone's side, it nonetheless is not the kind of output Atletico Madrid would have expected when they spent a massive sum to bring the then-19-year-old to Madrid.

Chelsea, for their part, have really struggled in attack, with no player having scored more than four goals. New acquisitions Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have failed to hit the ground running, with just four goals and one goal respectively, while Potter's attempts to feature Kai Havertz as a striker have failed to reap any dividends.

According to reports, Chelsea will be paying about $11.8 million (£9.7 million) to bring in Felix on loan, thus edging out competition from Manchester United, who were also apparently keen on the Portuguese international.