Joao Felix joined Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid in January and has gone on to make 15 appearances in all competitions, but the Blues may not sign him permanently due to his poor scoring record.
Felix only has two goals for Chelsea in his three months at Stamford Bridge and Pacojó Delgado told Cadena SER via AS that Atleti are fearful they won’t want him beyond the summer.
Chelsea attack has been below-par
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League with 30 goals scored in 31 games. Only five sides have scored fewer goals than the West Londoners and Felix is one of many victims of their impotent attack. The Portuguese international was already short of form in Spain with five goals in 20 games and he’s been even worse at Chelsea.
Felix only has one goal in his last 13 appearances, so he’s not been reliable for Graham Potter or Frank Lampard. And given Atleti would request up to €80m (£71m) for his signature, it makes little sense that Chelsea would match his asking price. Only one player has more than four league goals this season, so Chelsea isn’t the best place for attackers.
Felix scored 20 goals and made 11 assists in 43 games for Benfica to warrant Atleti signing him for €126m (£112m) in 2019, but he’s not lived up to his potential since. Felix has scored 34 goals with 18 assists from 131 appearances, failing to hit double figures in any league season for Atleti, so Chelsea were taking a risk.
Regardless of whether Felix stays, Chelsea will be desperate to bolster the attack this summer. Frank Lampard currently has Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, David Datro Fofana and Armando Broja who can lead the line, but the trio have scored just two goals between them.
And based on Felix’s loan stint, he won’t solve their scoring woes next season either. Chelsea have already spent £540m on new players in the last two transfer windows and find themselves in the bottom half of the table, so they can’t afford to waste more money on sub-par signings. Chelsea need a prolific striker this summer and will perhaps acquire more than one.
