Chelsea have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the signing of Joao Felix. But why? A guy with 41 caps for Portugal at the age of 24 who cost £120m five years ago and played regularly for Barcelona last season: the reported £36m sounds like a bit of a bargain. And if almost any other Premier League club had signed him, we would be tipping our hats. But Chelsea? Again, why?
Barely 24 hours earlier, before their season had even started, Enzo Maresca was fielding questions about the future of a forward already on the Chelsea books who had detailed his frustration at not playing football.
Raheem Sterling should not have left Manchester City and was ill-advised by his ‘camp’ ahead of Chelsea’s clash with his former employers, but while Maresca presumably thought the first signs of dressing room unrest might come slightly later in the season, Sterling shed early light on an inevitable problem for the new head coach.
Sterling watched Sunday’s defeat in a strop at home while Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke saw no minutes. Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku started as the front three while Marc Guiu and Pedro Neto – their forward signing of last week – made their competitive debuts from the bench.
That’s as they attempt to find buyers for Romelu Lukaku, David Datro Fofana and Armando Broja, loan options for Deivid Washington, Guiu and Angelo, and something – anything – to do with £18m summer signing Omari Kellyman.
Oh, and they’re still supposedly in talks with Napoli over a deal for Victor Osimhen.
Even if that doesn’t happen and assuming they get the unwanted players off the books, the best (or worst) case scenario sees seven forwards remaining for Maresca to choose from.
Chelsea's Forward Overload
Cole Palmer has to start, and if he persists with Enzo Fernandez in the attacking midfield role (which he shouldn’t, but can’t not because he cost so much and Romeo Lavia looked excellent alongside the other £100m+ midfielder, who also has to play), then Maresca essentially has six forwards for two positions.
If he wants to play a Proper Striker, or at least the closest likeness to one, then Jackson will start, which means he has five players vying for a start on the left wing.
We’re being a tad flippant; let’s say Noni Madueke – if he stays – acts purely a back-up for Palmer. That still means three of Mudryk, Nkunku, Neto and Felix won’t get a game because there is no space in the team for them. No wonder Sterling voiced his concerns.
Game-time frustrations and dressing-room atmosphere challenges considered, we would still sort of get it if Joao Felix was too good an opportunity to pass up. But they know exactly what they’re getting having seen it first-hand: another skilful but ultimately underwhelming forward who adds to the raft of options who flatter to deceive and struggle to do the one thing that remains the bane of their Premier League existence: finishing chances.
They actually wanted Samu Omorodion before his move collapsed courtesy of their ‘disrespect’. Felix is more an indicator of their obsession with the pure profit to be gained by Conor Gallagher leaving for Atletico Madrid rather than proof of any real desire for the Portugal international’s return.
He might be fine, good even, a successful signing perhaps. But for that to be the case, at least two, more likely three, possibly four of the signings made in the Todd Boehly-Clearlake era won’t have been, because it’s impossible to give that many players sufficient opportunity to make the required impact dictated by their hefty transfer fees and ludicrously long contracts.
Felix's Second Coming
According to reports, Chelsea are ‘confident of sealing’ an agreement with Atletico Madrid to sign Joao Felix as the La Liga side ‘want to speed things up’.
Not that Chelsea needs any more players. The squad at Stamford Bridge is bloated. No fewer than nine new signings have arrived in the summer transfer window with Felix set to raise that number to 10. There has been much discussion over Chelsea’s transfer strategy and it is no clearer now that Felix is about to join.
Felix has had a confusing career to date. Signed by Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a fee of €126m that made him the fourth most expensive player in soccer history, the Portuguese attacker struggled to find a role under Diego Simeone. Loan spells at Barcelona and Chelsea followed, but Felix’s struggles continued.
So why are Chelsea signing a player who has yet to prove he’s good enough for the elite level? Felix will turn 25 in November and can no longer be considered raw potential. He is now entering the portion of his career where potential must be converted into something real and Felix isn’t close to achieving this.
Chelsea is already over-stocked for attacking players in Felix’s position. Raheem Sterling was omitted from Enzo Maresca’s squad for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Manchester City with Mykhailo Mudryk left on the bench despite making the move to Stamford Bridge for €100m only 18 months ago.
Boehly's Disruptive Strategy
In truth, Felix’s move to Chelsea is designed to facilitate Conor Gallagher’s transfer in the other direction to Atletico Madrid which would permit the Stamford Bridge club to register pure profit on the balance sheet due to the midfielder being an academy graduate. The fee to sign Felix, on the other hand, can be spread across a number of seasons.
The Future is Uncertain
Felix’s arrival raises more questions than it answers. Will he finally find his form in a Chelsea shirt? Will he be a key player in Maresca’s squad, or will he be another expensive disappointment? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Chelsea’s transfer strategy continues to be a source of debate and controversy. And with the transfer window still open, there’s no telling what other surprises Boehly might have in store.
