Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is uninterested in pursuing a deal for Joao Felix
Joao Felix will return to Atletico Madrid, according to club president Enrique Cerezo, as Mauricio Pochettino has no intention of including the forward in his plans at Chelsea.
The 23-year-old signed a loan agreement with Chelsea in January and has since wowed the Blues with several exceptional performances, netting four goals in 16 Premier League appearances.
The Portuguese attacker had also made it known that he intended to stay at Chelsea after his loan period is through. Unfortunately, he will now return to Diego Simeone’s squad with Pochettino not keen on retaining his services.
Given that he also had a fallout with Atletico manager Diego Simeone, which saw the 23-year-old sent on loan, a move to Chelsea would have been a fresh start. It would now appear that his future lies elsewhere.
It will be challenging to see how the former Benfica forward will fit in at his parent club given how admirably Atletico have performed without him since he left. Speaking in an interview, the Atletico Madrid president announced his words, which were quoted by transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano:
“We have been informed that Poch does not count with Joo FĂ©lix for Chelsea. He will return here; we’ll see. We’ve got nothing planned.”
Despite Felix’s promising performances the decision on retaining him is up to the boss. It is good to see Pochettino make clear and concise decisions while having a plan in place. There is little reason for us to get in players who aren’t part of his rebuild.
Felix possesses excellent ball skills but lacks significant playmaking ability off it. While he has the potential to be a world-class star, there is still much work to be done before he gets there.
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However, given that Christopher Nkunku will be joining us for the upcoming season and will play in the same position as Felix (behind the striker), it makes sense that we are parting ways with the latter. After all, too many cooks spoil the broth.