Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix is on loan at Chelsea until the summer. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
According to his column on Daily Star, former England international and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has warned Chelsea against signing Portugal star and Atletico Madrid outcast Joao Felix.
A few weeks ago, it was reported in Football.London that Atleti are ready to offload Felix from their books after he fell out with the manager Diego Simeone.
The latest on the 23-year-old’s future is that the English clubs – Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are interested in signing him. Simeone has not ruled out the possibility of him not leaving in the coming transfer window.
Here’s what Merson wrote in his column regarding why Chelsea should not sign Felix (h/t Daily Star):
“I’ve seen Joao Felix linked with them [Chelsea] but I think he’d be a bit lightweight in this league and a bit too similar to Kai Havertz. They need to find someone more dynamic who can bully defenders and score goals. But those are hard to find.
Chelsea could with an addition or two in their forward line in January. Young striker Armando Broja picked up a season-ending ACL injury during the friendly against Aston Villa earlier in December, leaving themselves short on options in that department.
They are set to sign young Ivory Coast striker David Datro Fofana from Molde, but that may not be enough to fill the gaps in the forward line.
As much as what Merson said is right and logical to think, Felix showed in the World Cup that he can produce in the biggest stages even when football is physically demanding and the pressure is the highest.
Although the intensity levels of the Premier League are higher than any level of football, the former Benfica star has shown during his Portugal days that he can compete with the transitional nature of football in England.
The good thing about him is that he is versatile and can play anywhere across the forward line. So, if Chelsea sign him, he won’t just be an addition for the number nine spot, but for every spot in the forward line.
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