João Félix must be pretty desperate to leave Atlético Madrid as according to The Telegraph, he’s willing to take “a significant cut to his salary to fit into the club’s wage structure”. He did the same last year, too in order to go on loan to Barcelona for the season — where he had a pretty decent time of things.
His six months at Stamford Bridge in the second half of the 2022-23 season, also on loan, were not quite as successful, but it’s not like anyone else on that team was doing any better.
Fun fact: I got to sit in on the interview Félix did with the London Is Blue Podcast not long after joining in the winter window; he’s a very nice person and was a good sport for stepping in as a last-minute replacement for the original interview subject who couldn’t make it.
That said, I’m not sure Félix is the player we need at the moment. He’s a lovely fellow and can dazzle in moments, but where would he fit in? He’s not a striker, he’s not a winger, he’s not a midfielder, and he’s not Cole Palmer. Clearly, he was not part of our long-term plan. I suppose it’s good to have options.
(And his arrival could motivate a departure for, say, Raheem Sterling? Some speculation has popped up in recent days about that, with Juventus named…)
