Joao Felix has made quite the impact during his brief stint as a Chelsea player. Having beaten off Manchester Utd and Arsenal to the January loan signing, his Blues debut failed to last an hour after he was dismissed for a horror tackle on Kenny Tete against Fulham, but his time on the pitch did show plenty of promise with signs of creativity and attacking threat.
Since returning from his suspension, the Atletico Madrid forward has continued to impress for Graham Potter's side, notching up goals against West Ham United and Everton. Felix's loan will expire at the end of the season, when - as things stand - he will head back to Spain.
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. Former Chelsea player Shaun Wright-Phillips believes acquiring the Portuguese's future beyond this campaign should be a priority as the 23-year-old is the player the squad has been lacking for many years.
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Asked which of Chelsea's new signings he'd been most impressed with, Wright-Phillips told Betway: "Joao Felix. In a way, he was a player that I'd say [Thomas] Tuchel was missing.
"He's the link between midfield and attack that they didn't have. Watching Chelsea over the last few years before Potter, defensively they were fantastic, but it just felt like when they got to that final third, there wasn't a connection there.
"There wasn't that threat of a player like Frank Lampard, who will make runs into the box, or an Eidur Gudjohnsen who will dribble and make things happen. It was just midfield and attack, but I think Joao Felix sews that part up.
"We also have Enzo [Fernandez] who's come in. If him and [N'Golo] Kante can play together, that could be very solid defensively. I'm really looking forward to see where it goes."
One January addition who has failed to hit the ground running in quite the same way is Mykhailo Mudryk. That being said, Wright-Phillips remains optimistic the £88million man will still be a good signing after showing flashes of what he could offer Potter's side.
"What put more pressure on him was his debut substitute appearance," he added. "When he came on and did what he did in that short space of time, everybody expected him to start next game. So, he never got to build into the Premier League. It was just, we need to start this guy after what we've just seen, and then it was all eyes on him and everyone was expecting that all the time.
"Chelsea as a whole are going through transition, and he's a part of that transition. You don't do what he did on his debut if you don't naturally have talent, but it will take time with him.
"I think sometimes as fans we underestimate how strong the Premier League is. I think sometimes players underestimate it as well. It is, for him, a reality check now he's in the Premier League, and I think he'll come to terms with it.
"Once he has an understanding of what Chelsea and Potter want from him, I think he'll be fantastic, especially if he's utilised on transition and counter-attacks, and they get him the ball early and he's got time to run at people and cause a lot of problems. I think he'll be a good signing."
The former Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers attacker also believes Graham Potter will come good as Chelsea manager if given time to do so. He added that, despite the club currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, he thinks the Blues will be back challenging towards the upper echelons of the table again next term.
"I'm a big fan of Graham Potter," he continued. "Not just as a manager, but he seems to make players better. With a manager like that, it's not a quick turnaround.
"It didn't help, the fact that there was so many players coming in. He's not quite had to start again, but start at a level where the new players coming in could catch up quickly so they know what he wants. He's also been without Ben Chilwell and Reece James for spells, who are a massive part of Chelsea moving forward.
"I think the fact that all the pieces are starting to now fall into place: the results, the better performances as a team, it's not surprising. I think next year, Chelsea are going to be up there challenging."
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