Joao Felix showed Chelsea exactly what they had been missing just 15 minutes into his debut earlier this year. After being announced as a new Blues player on Monday, January 12, Felix made his Chelsea bow the following evening against Fulham showing signs of creativity and attacking threat the Blues had struggled to see consistently for several months.
Unfortunately, his first appearance was marred significantly for a horror tackle on Kenny Tete which saw him sent off. A three-game suspension meant he next appeared for Chelsea against West Ham on February 11, once again showing how much Graham Potter had missed him.
Combining with Enzo Fernandez, Felix put Chelsea into the lead with a calm volley at London Stadium and since that goal he has been a main stay in the starting XI. The Premier League clash with Leicester saw the Portugal international make his seventh consecutive start, but he was withdrawn at half time with Chelsea 2-1 in front.
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Asked after the game if his decision to remove Felix from the action was due to injury, Potter revealed: "No, just tactically, I wanted to use an extra midfielder. I felt we needed someone who could ball win, a different profile and I thought Conor was fantastic when he came on."
Felix's loan to Chelsea will expire at the end of the season where he will head back to Atletico Madrid. However, both parties appear to want a permanent move with Felix well-liked at Stamford Bridge, while his relationship with Atletico boss Diego Simeone appears unrepairable.
Atletico spent a club-record £113million on Felix and it's very likely that the Spanish club will want to recoup a fee somewhere close to what they spent in 2019. According to a recent report from Cadena SER Chelsea are wiling fork out £70million to buy him from Atletico in the summer.
However, his club teammate Koke, when discussing the January departures of Matheus Cunha and Felix, revealed he is expecting the latter back in Madrid next season. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, via Goal, he said: "They were important players within the team. They made the decision to leave. Joao transferred and Cunha transferred.
"They are decisions of each one. Totally respectable. Joao is picking up the rhythm of the games, he is gaining confidence for the coming season to come back here. And to Cunha wish him all the best."
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