Joao Felix has sent a cryptic Chelsea transfer hint after his final game on loan at the club. The 23-year-old has ended his initial term away from Atletico Madrid but still faces an uncertain future.
With four goals to show for his five months in London, Felix's temporary move has proved to be a mixed bag. After a bright and promising start was cut short by a straight red card on debut against Fulham, his impact has been less than hoped.
Signed to help Chelsea progress in the Champions League, Felix failed to score in any of the four knockout games he featured in, missing key chances away to Borussia Dortmund in the 1-0 loss. He did find himself a tad unlucky, though, hitting the woodwork three times as well in four matches.
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The £11m fee paid for his services was immediately under scrutiny after he was forced to sit out three games due to suspension and his addition effectively cost Benoit Badiashile his place in the Champions League squad. However, since arriving no player has scored more goals than him. That does show the shocking form of the club more than anything, but his output has been comparable.
Nobody in the Chelsea squad had a higher goal per 90 minutes than Felix and his xG per 90 is the same. His creation is an issue, however, with no assists registered and just 0.5 xA across 16 matches, 11 starts and 941 minutes of football.
Chelsea averaged more xG when he was on the pitch than with any other player and the xG differential was just as strongly weighted in his favour as well. Per90 only N'Golo Kante had a better than Felix for xG. This will all be taken into account heading into the summer window whereby he could yet be on the move again.
Madrid are keen to recoup as much of the sizeable £111m they paid Benfica for his services in 2019 but his form doesn't equate to that being value for money. It is certainly not a deal that Chelsea are able to sanction. Another loan is a potential way around this but the player is said to be looking for Champions League football next year, not something that SW6 can offer.
There is also the incumbent Mauricio Pochettino and his stance on Felix to take into account. Should Madrid choose to move on from Diego Simeone, a return to Spain may well become more appealing for Felix as well.
Although his performances haven't been jaw-dropping, his moments of skill and quality often were bursts of light that others simply cannot match. His attitude has also been impressive with a clear desire to bring success and immediate results to the club.
This has been shown once more with his latest social media activity. In a series of images posted on Instagram, Felix demonstrates his frustration that two big opportunities against Newcastle weren't converted. His mistimed header was the better of the two as a free-kick was sent narrowly wide.
His final post, which went up onto his story in the early hours of Monday morning, were of Stamford Bridge, taken from on the pitch. Without a caption it is uncertain what Felix's desire was from the post but after showing angst and annoyance, it could a feeling of regret at not bowing out the way he had planned.
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