Joao Felix will be wearing the blue of Chelsea once again as he closes in on a return to Stamford Bridge. Spending the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan with the Blues from Atletico Madrid, this time the Portuguese ace will complete a permanent transfer to Chelsea from the Spanish side.
Felix has already agreed personal terms with the west London club and he is expected to re-sign on a six-year contract. Turning their attention to Felix following the collapse of the Samu Omorodion deal, the transfer will in turn finally see Conor Gallagher seal his move to Atletico Madrid after initially having to return to the capital from Madrid due to the deal for the Atletico striker falling through.
Felix’s Chelsea return will see head coach Enzo Maresca have even more choice in the wide positions. Already having a host of players such as Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling who can play there, the Portugal international will provide cover on the left flank and also through the middle if required.
Once signed on the dotted line, Felix’s second Chelsea debut could come at some point over the coming days with the club having a very busy schedule. Maresca’s side return to action on Thursday in the Europa Conference League as they host Swiss side Servette at Stamford Bridge, before travelling to Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Next Thursday they travel to Geneva for the second leg of their European tie, with Crystal Palace then their opponents in SW6 three days later. So could Felix take to the pitch for Chelsea in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening?
As per the UEFA Conference League regulations, Article 31:09 states that Chelsea must submit their List A for the play-off round by 24:00 CET (11pm BST) on Friday, August 16. That date has unfortunately passed but there is still a way that Felix can play in the play-off tie.
Article 31:10 states: “For the qualifying phase and the play-offs, a club may register a maximum of two new eligible players on List A after the above-mentioned deadlines, provided the quota of locally trained players is respected.
“This registration must be completed by 24:00 CET (11pm BST) the day before the relevant first-leg match and the club’s association must confirm in writing that the new player is currently eligible to play at domestic level. If the registration of a new player causes the number of players on List A to exceed 25, the club must remove a player registered previously to reduce the number of players on the list to 25 again.”
So, in order for Felix to play against Servette in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the Viseu-born player must be registered by 11pm on Wednesday evening to be eligible for the tie. Even if he doesn’t take part in the first leg, to have him registered by the deadline will mean he can be available for the second leg at Stade de Geneve.
If Chelsea do qualify for the league phase of UEFA’s third club competition, the Blues will have to submit List A online by 24:00 CET (11pm BST) on Wednesday, September 4 for all matches from the first match in the league phase up to and including the final. Due to the sheer size of Maresca’s Chelsea squad, the Blues appear set to have a headache when it comes to naming their 25-man European squad as clubs can have no more than 17 non-homegrown players as part of List A and eight places are reserved for locally-trained players.
