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‘I feel good playing here’: Joao Félix hints he can STAY at Chelsea, despite no purchase option beyond loan, as £80m striker talks ‘freedom’ offered Graham Potter
- Joao Félix arrived at Chelsea on loan from Atlético de Madrid in the January window
- The 23-year-old scored his first goal since joining the club earlier this month.
- The striker has now hinted that he would be happy to stay at Stamford Bridge.
Joao Felix has suggested he could stay at Chelsea beyond the end of his loan spell while enjoying the ‘freedom’ on offer at Stamford Bridge.
Felix arrived in west London on an £11m loan deal from Atlético Madrid in January and has made a mixed start to his time at the club.
He was sent off on his debut against Fulham and missed three games with the resulting ban, but has been looking bright since returning to the team and scoring his first goal for the club against West Ham earlier this month.
speaking to eleven portugal, Felix said: ‘The position I play and the way we play at Chelsea is different to Atlético. Clearly I have more freedom to put my football into practice, to be at my best to help the team.’
‘I feel good playing here. It’s just a matter of getting results and it will be perfect.’
Joao Félix has hinted that he may stay at Chelsea after the end of his loan spell at the club.
He praised the ‘freedom’ Graham Potter gave him despite a recent poor run of results for the Blues.
The Blues have won just once in seven games since Felix’s debut. They have fallen to 10th in the league and face an uphill battle in the Champions League after losing the first leg of their last 16 games 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, Atlético sit fourth in La Liga without the 23-year-old. He had a difficult relationship with coach Diego Simeone in Madrid, and reports in the evening standard suggests Chelsea will be allowed to sign the striker permanently if Atleti can recoup £80m of the £113m they paid for him in 2019.
Chelsea travel to Tottenham on Sunday in a game that could be vital for Potter after the club’s recent worrisome form. Despite processing a host of attacking talent after their £300m splurge, the Blues are struggling to score goals and lost to Southampton in their last game.
Spurs have struggled with consistency this season but currently sit in fourth place after beating West Ham 2-0 in their last game.
Speaking ahead of Sunday, the Chelsea manager said: ‘[We need] a strong performance. We need three points. It is a game that we are also looking forward to. The training and the response have been really good.
‘We have talked about it with individuals and as a group about how to attack against Tottenham. It is a team that does not give away much, defends in depth, that will have to be thought about.
Felix scored his first goal for the club earlier this month, but Chelsea have won just once since his arrival and were beaten by Southampton last week.
It is believed that Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid would let Félix go for the fair fee