Chelsea had announced Mauricio Pochettino as the new manager of their club and he has taken the first big decision at the club, not signing Joao Felix on a permanent transfer after initially joining the club on a loan.
The Pochettino era at Stamford Bridge has begun after the worst season in the club’s history since the inception of the Premier League. The Argentine coach has decided that the Portuguese striker will not join the club on a permanent basis as revealed by Atlético president Enrique Cerezo. He gave an interview to Marca today saying,
“The truth is that I can’t tell you the plan with Joao. It’s the news we had yesterday, that the new coach doesn’t have him for Chelsea. We don’t have anything planned yet, Joao is an Atletico player now.”
🚨🔵 João Félix will NOT stay at Chelsea next season. Pochettino has decided, João returns to Atléti.
“We have been informed that Poch does not count with João Félix for Chelsea. He will return here, we’ll see… we’ve nothing planned”, Atlético president Cerezo has announced. pic.twitter.com/81i7fYauWG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 30, 2023
HOW DID JOAO FELIX FARE AT CHELSEA?
It’s been a very up and down time for Joao at Chelsea. The Portuguese forward had joined the club on a six-month loan deal with Todd Boehly paying the Spanish club £9.69 million (€11m) fee and also agreed to cover his monstrous quarter of a million pounds a week wages he was earning at the Wanda Metropolitano. Felix during his time in London only managed to score four times for the Blues – with all of them coming in the Premier League.
He did start his season in great fashion immediately looking like the best attacker on the pitch with games against Fulham and West Ham United reminding everyone of the talent people saw at SL Benfica. But subsequent games against Southampton, Tottenham and Leeds were tough performances to watch with player struggling due to the team’s poor form and the backroom changes at the club. Felix has shown glimpses of brilliance at Stamford Bridge but the chaos and instability at the club added with his own personal struggles with performances were really the ingredients required for his tenure at Chelsea to come to an abrupt end.
The forward and the fans have shared the love for each other with Felix claiming, “I don’t know yet my future but these four or five months, I’ve loved it. It’s a top club, everyone in the club is very good to me, my teammates are unbelievable and I really like to be here.”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF JOAO FELIX LOOK LIKE?
Pochettino may have felt that Joao Felix does not suit the way he likes to play football and the 100 million euros asking price could also be another reason why Chelsea did not want a permanent transfer. The club have already spent 600 million euros in the last two transfer windows and they will want to sell some of the assets before bringing new players in.
His future in the Spanish capital is now very uncertain with the player falling out of favour under Diego Simeone this season, though he has four years remaining on his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano.
