João Félix 2.0........ Where would he fit? How do we get the best out of him?

This was an incredible bit of news that barely anybody expected....

Good Morning Ladies and Gents,

I am going to start this article by saying I am a HUGE fan of the player, I always have been and most likely always will be.

Anyway, on to my thoughts on this deal, how it arose and IF it can work for the club, the team and most importantly Enzo Maresca’s system.

A key thing to remember from Felix’s previous 4/5 month stint, he joined us in the worst period of Chelsea’s recent history, nobody came out of that situation well but he did shine brighter than a lot of his peers.

In terms of numbers (goals, assists etc) the stats aren’t amazing but that was a record low of goals for Chelsea that season and the confidence of the players were shot to bits. These are not excuses, they’re facts.

He scored 4 goals in 11 starts, but from memory I remember him hitting the wood work on at least 5 occasions, he is direct and willing to try to score from almost anywhere. He is really sharp in tight areas and really comfortable out wide. This was in a poor Chelsea side but there were still glimpses of a real player in there, even under the tutelage of Graham Potter and his 35 man squad (not his fault). Lets look at him in a better side last season;

He is in the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe for Goals per90 averaging almost a goal every other game at 0.47XG. He is in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe for Non-penalty expected goals at 0.49NpXG an underperformance of just 0.02XG per 90.

He is in the top 5% of the same category for Expected goal involvements at 0.66XGI per game basically meaning he should be involved in 2 goals every 3 games. He is in the top 4% for shots per 90 at 3.70 shots per 90.

He is in the top 15% of attacking mids and wingers for Touches in opp penalty area at 6.22 per90 & progressive passes received at 11.03 per90 as well as for Goal Contributions, he contributes 0.66 Goals per 90, exactly how the stats suggested above.

His shooting stats are very very good and if for example you compare this against a Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk or Noni Madueke he comes out on top against all 3. His style, directness and overall self creating ability is something Enzo Maresca likes in a winger.

I am biased because I have been a fan of the player for SUCH a long time, but if you watch this video and tell me he cannot improve our attack I will be surprised, yes it is just a compilation/highlight package but there is some serious talent in this player.

He just needs a home, somewhere to be settled and the right manager to unleash the player that cost Atleti 125m Euros 5 years ago, he has the potential still, he is the right age and cans till fulfil his potential.

How do we utilise him you ask? Well here are a couple of potential setups;

IF we sign Osimhen we could see a lineup like this, obviously the likes of Caicedo could easily be in this, this was more to show our attacking shape.

There would be a lot of room to be flexible and do what he likes to do and drift into pockets of space to receive, with someone like Nkunku who likes to start centrally but also drift wide, something Nico Jackson likes as well. There would be lots of fluidity in attack. This was just an example for reference.

We may sign him and if we do it’ll be around 50m pounds I would guess, that could be a HUGE steal, it could also flop, I for one would like to see us take that chance, especially if we can offload a further attacker (Sterling/Mudryk please).

I KNOW this is a completely marmite situation, people will either love this idea like me or hate it and that’s fine, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. He obviously has negatives to his game and I am not neglecting them, this is a more positive article and showing what he can do and how he could improve our side.

Please give me your thoughts in the comments respectfully.

Thanks for reading

Luke Rushbrook