On paper, the signing of Joao Felix is hardly a priority for Chelsea, but given the recent struggles in attack and the injuries suffered by Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic, it could prove to be an astute temporary purchase. The arrival of Felix in west London is not finalised as of yet, but the Blues are close to signing the Atletico Madrid star on a loan deal until the end of the season, football.london understands.
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, the Blues have a verbal agreement in place to sign the Portugal international on loan for "approximately €11million". He is determined to leave Atletico Madrid, but football.london understand a deal has not been finalised just yet.
54 goals in 174 senior appearances shows that Felix is hardly a proven goal scorer and his struggles locking down a consistent place in one position also proves that there is some doubt over what the 23-year-olds best role is, but Felix has already revealed what his best position is and it could prove as a benefit to Chelsea.
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"My best position is as the second forward," said Felix, speaking to The Athletic earlier this year. "Playing like a No.10, with a guy in front of me."
Chelsea supporters are hardly optimistic about the proposed arrival of Felix, but injuries suffered by Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic in the Premier League clash with Manchester City on Thursday, could make his imminent arrival a needed one.
Graham Potter confirmed that Pulisic would be out for "weeks" while he was unable to offer a timeline on the absence of Sterling. In the space of 17 minutes, Chelsea lost two key attackers, with Sterling and Pulisic both adding their names to the injury list which also includes Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N'golo Kante, Armando Broja and many others.
As many saw at the World Cup in Qatar, a happy and settled Felix is when he is at his best. Since his arrival at Atletico in 2019, he has struggled to live up to the lofty £113million fee paid by the Spanish club and with that record-breaking price tag on his shoulders, it was perhaps always a losing battle for Felix to prove he is worth that sum.
Playing in a free role as part of Fernando Santos' Portugal team, Felix grabbed two assists and one goal before his nation were knocked out by Morocco. Upon returning to Atletico, the former Benfica man showed his nous in attacking positions to nod home an Antoine Griezmann cross to put his side in front against Elche.
After discovering his back three formation used with great success at Brighton was not working to the same affect in SW6, Potter opted to deploy a 4-3-3 with Sterling, Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech often the recipients of the wide positions.
That formation switch could greatly benefit Felix, who could potentially slot into a number of positions in the set up. Felix could dislodge Kai Havertz from his spot as a No. 9 and the recent performances of Mason Mount could see his place up for grabs, with Felix as an option in a free attacking eight role.
The key detail from this saga is that there appears to be no buy option as part of the loan deal and therefore if the attempted short-term fix does not have the desired outcome, Felix will simply return to Atletico at the end of the season. However, any contribution made by Felix could be key in Chelsea finishing the season with a flourish as his versatility could offer a number of positional solutions for Potter.
Either side of a No. 9 could be the best place to deploy Felix but a free eight role could potentially unleash Felix's best quality. Diego Simeone chose to bring Felix on in the second half of Atletico's Champions League clash, with RB Leipzig and his cameo shows the Blues exactly how he can shine.
By picking up spaces in gaps left by the opposition and driving at defenders, Felix caused countless problems for the German outfit, winning a penalty and then converting from 12 yards to level the game. If Potter can unlock the best of Felix, which was clearly on show in this game, Chelsea could have a fantastic player on their hands for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
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