Portuguese international João Félix has agreed to join Chelsea on a loan deal until the end of the season.
My take on the deal
As with all of our transfers right now this one came out of nowhere, which probably explains why majority don’t work out, with it first being reported yesterday by many media outlets that a deal had been agreed.
At first it looks like an exciting signing but with a number of our recent purchases Todd Boehly has gone into the transfer market like a kid in a sweet shop, looking to pick up the biggest and best players from across Europe, and not looking at the bigger picture with how they’ll fit into the team. A prime example of this, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, brought in to fit into Thomas Tuchel’s system and to rekindle their positive relationship which they shared in Dortmund. 4 days later and Tuchel is gone and now the striker is under the management of Graham Potter who clearly doesn’t fancy him. Another high profile player with high wages who will inevitably rot away on the bench or knowing Chelsea’s luck on the treatment table.
But as for the deal itself it is only a loan deal which will serve up until the end of the 2022/23 season where Felix will then go back to Atletico Madrid after renewing his contract until 2027 just before he flew to London to finalise the deal.
You’ve got to ask yourself, especially as a Chelsea fan, what is the point of this signing?
Yes we get in a so called “elite attacker” into our team, but a team which is currently all over the place with no real identity on the pitch, with enough injuries to field a side better than the one we currently have available to us right now, but then with the players we do have available to us look disinterested and with a manager who is still finding his feet being at a top level club. One loan player will not help our current situation, we are in a transition period and should be looking to the future with young players who want to commit to the long term vision.
I don’t see the worth in bringing in a loan player where we’ll be paying a loan fee which is around 11 million and then add to that paying the full amount of his wages. This being all for a player that has yet to live up to the hype of being one of the worlds greatest young talents after his £127 million transfer fee paid by the Madrid side in 2019.
More yellow cards than assists and has never broke the 10 goal mark for the Spanish side.
This season Chelsea are already out of both cups and sit in 10th place, it’s going to be a trophy less season, why not integrate some of our young talent into the squad who actually want to play for the club and have a long term future here instead of splashing out on flashy name who will only be here on loan and realistically will take a long time to adapt to the league considering how it’s taken him so long to adapt in the Spanish league.
David Datro Fofana, a young promising striker, what was the point in his acquisition if we aren’t going to give him the opportunity to play and develop if it’s to be blocked by a loanee.
We, Chelsea, currently have one of the best managers in developing young talent and working well with what he’s got but it will take time, something which is hard for some Chelsea fans to get their heads around. We should be looking at young talent for now and the future especially as now is the perfect season with all expectation pretty much out the window, for obvious reasons. Just think if we give the likes of Fofana, Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka a major chance in the first team now right through until the end of the season at how much they can develop in that time for then to be ready for the new season. Along with a number of signings in the summer, Chelsea will be in a much more healthier position under Potter to kick on compared to if the pathway of our youngsters was to be blocked by loanees who have no intention on staying after.
This is just my opinion on the signing of João Félix and how it may not be the smartest of moves from Todd and co.
What are your thoughts on this deal?
