Chelsea have completed a last-ditch deadline day deal to take Saul Niguez on loan from Atletico Madrid until the end of the season.
The Champions League winners will pay an initial loan fee of around £3.4m and have the option to buy the 26-year-old midfielder outright for £30m (€35m) in 12 months’ time.
Thomas Tuchel had been intent on strengthening his midfield options for the season ahead and Saul adds yet more quality to a squad already boasting the likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount.
Saul slipped down the pecking order under Diego Simeone as Atleti won La Liga for the first time since 2014 last term and all parties were in agreement over a switch to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea supporters were made to wait for confirmation of Saul’s temporary move and an official announcement finally arrived just before midnight, with clubs given an hour after the deadline to lodge all of the necessary paperwork.
‘I am very excited to start this new challenge with Chelsea,’ Saul told Chelsea’s website.
‘Blues fans, I am one of you now and I can’t wait to wear the shirt, start training and see all of you. See you soon!’
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia believes the club are adding a ‘proven winner’ to their ranks and is confident Saul has all the attributes to help the club achieve their goals this season.
‘We welcome Saul to the club and believe he completes our squad as we compete for honours in five different competitions this season,’ she said.
‘He is a proven winner, a player with huge experience and we know he will be very well-suited to the challenges that face us on all fronts in the coming year.’
The Spain international, who rose from Atleti’s academy to play for the first-team, is expected to fly to London over the coming 48 hours.
Saul has scored 43 goals in 340 appearances for Atletico Madrid across his decade-long spell in the first-team at the Wanda Metropolitano.
In that time, the midfielder has helped his boyhood team win two Europa League trophies, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and last year’s La Liga title.
The Spaniard – who has been capped 19 times at international level – has been keen to boost his minutes at an elite club after missing out on a place in Luis Enrique’s squad for Euro 2020.
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