Joao Felix made the most Joao Felix return possible to Chelsea – coming on as a sub against Wolves yesterday and banging a crisp first time finish into the top corner to seal the win.
The attacker has had some pretty tough times since his big move to Atletico Madrid, which never worked out. Since agreeing a move back to Chelsea, where he had 6 months on loan at the start of 2023, he’s repeatedly talked about coming “home,” and his latest interview with the club’s official site really focuses on that.
“I feel really confident whenever I step onto the pitch in a Chelsea shirt. When I came last season, I felt a really good presence within the club, at the training ground, at the stadium and with the fans and I feel it again now,” the Benfica youth product explained.
“I really can’t put my finger on it but I just feel so happy at Chelsea, I feel comfortable and outside of Portugal, this really does feel like home to me.
Maresca left with interesting attacking puzzle
Manager Enzo Maresca now has to figure out how to fit Felix into this team with so much other attacking talent available. While we saw both of them on the bench yesterday to start with, we would imagine that he and Christopher Nkunku are going to play similar roles and interchange depending on form, fixture and fitness.
But with Cole Palmer doing so well yesterday when used centrally too… there are a lot of things to think about.
What is for sure is that Felix’s linkup with countryman Pedro Neto (who assisted his goal yesterday) is something to keep an eye on. Fitting those two, along with Palmer, Nkunku and Jackson, into one coherent attack, is going to be Maresca’s topline objective for the season.
