When João Félix made a somewhat surprising return to Chelsea in the recent summer transfer window, it was met with mixed reactions at Stamford Bridge. So far this season, the Portuguese international has shown glimpses of brilliance, but has failed to cement a regular starting spot in Enzo Maresca’s Premier League team.
After a stuttering career so far, which has been remarkably reflected in his brief and inconsistent return to Chelsea so far, it remains to be seen how far Félix can go in Chelsea blue, and what this season holds for him.
The Transfer Merry-Go-Round
The circumstances which eventually brought Félix to Chelsea were bizarre to say the least. After a summer of speculation between Chelsea and Atlético Madrid, Connor Gallagher had seemingly made the move to the Spanish capital, with Samu Omorodion set to make the move to London as part of the deal – a move seemingly swept in the need to satisfy various profit and sustainability rules for both teams.
However, the move for Omorodion fell through, with the striker eventually ending up at Porto. With Atlético still pushing hard for a move for Gallagher, Chelsea instead turned their attentions to Félix, who’d spent the previous season on loan at Barcelona. With the weeks of the window rapidly closing, Chelsea eventually struck a deal to sign the still-only 24-year-old for a nominal fee of approximately £42million – a move largely seen as a bargain, when considering the obvious talent the Portuguese international does possess.
London Looms Once more
Félix was no stranger to Stamford Bridge, having spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea. This was during one of Chelsea’s most tumultuous spells in recent years, following the sacking of Graham Potter, club legend Frank Lampard was overseeing a dismal spell of results, with all Chelsea fans just wanting the season to be over.
Félix endured a mixed spell during this time, getting sent off on his debut against Fulham after showing some remarkable touches, before inconsistently seeing out the remainder of the season. As Félix has done throughout his whole career, he showed moments of brilliance and a delicate touch, alongside disappearing from matches completely. It was hardly the showing of a man who was once touted as the next Lionel Messi and has accumulated over £150million in transfer fees in his fledgling career so far.
Palmer Continuing to Shine
Returning to Chelsea for the 2023-2024 season, one of the main issues with Félix is that it still seems no one knows exactly where his best position is. Incapable of leading the line completely as a number 9 but not quite possessing the speed to be a pacy winger capable of outpacing the Premier League’s best fullbacks, where Félix’s best position remains up in the air.
So far this season, Félix has been deployed in the number 10 role predominantly, linking midfield to attack and bringing the wingers into play through intricate linkup play.
This is where Félix can be most impactful, with his trickery, vision and creativity at the forefront and where any defensive responsibilities are minimal. Whilst he could flourish in this position at Chelsea, and perhaps in another era would be able to, there is currently one big problem in Félix’s way at Chelsea, that being the astounding talent of Cole Palmer. Palmer is currently the first player on Maresca’s team sheet, and only an injury or suspension will see him not starting a game.
So far this season, Palmer has continued to flourish in the number 10 role, having been mostly used out wide under Mauricio Pochettino. That leaves Félix a very daunting task, either dislodge Palmer from the starting eleven, or settle for a role in Chelsea’s ‘B-team’ and continue to impress in the cup competitions and grasp his chance in the Premier League he can, whenever that time may come.
