“Chelsea is a team that likes to attack, have the ball, control the ball. That is the football I like to play. I feel very free here and I like it. I love it,” he says. Joao Félix before facing Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
The Londoners lost in the first leg (1-0) and in the second leg they are at stake to make sense of the largest investment in transfers in all of European football. Todd Boehly, the new owner of the club, spent 318.50 million to reinforce the team in the winter market. Among these signings, the Portuguese one stands out, even if it was on loan and at a cost of only 11 million euros, and those of Enzo Fernández, for whom he paid 121 million to Benfica, and Mudryk, for whom Shakhtar received 70 million, which could be 30 more depending on the objectives that the Ukrainian meets in the 2021 European champion.
To those more than 300 million spent in winter, Chelsea adds the 273 that they invested in summer. Almost 600 million in total to be currently tenth in the Premier, eleven points behind the Champions League and behind teams like Brentford or Brighton, to whom he paid 65 million euros this summer for the Spanish winger Cucurella and who was directed at the beginning of the season by the now Chelsea manager, Graham Potter.
But spending on transfers is not a guarantee of anything and Chelsea have only won one game out of the six they have played after the market closed. They have drawn two and lost three. And along the way, he has also lost some of his most emblematic players, like Jorginho, who left for Arsenal to try to be Premier League champion.
“In the position we’re in, you always have to welcome pressure. It means that you are in a fantastic position to compete for the quarter-finals. I think about how important it is for the team and the club to reach the quarterfinals. We are playing against a great opponent and it is a great challenge, but at the same time a great opportunity. We are going to give it our all,” says Graham Potter.
“It’s a great match, an exciting match. It’s going to be a special night at Stamford Bridge and we’re looking forward to it. Our thoughts are positive [el Dortmund] She is a great opponent and is in fantastic shape,” he adds.
To get past the playoffs, Chelsea must change the trend of the last games. He has only scored two goals in seven games. “It’s frustrating. Sometimes you shoot ten times and you don’t score and sometimes you shoot once and you score. We have to keep working and the goals will come,” warns Joao Félix.
The Portuguese can experience his second Champions League elimination this season, after Atlético failed to even make it past the group stage. «I think I needed the loan. When I left Atlético I felt that it was good for me and for them. I think it was the ideal agreement to try something different. I always try my best, but sometimes it doesn’t work, so I had to change to see if things were different. This assignment is important to me and I am very happy », he assures.
At Chelsea they are also happy with his signing, despite his rocky start. “Now that he’s not tackling in midfield, we’re happy with him,” Potter said, joking about being sent off on his debut. “His quality is clear. In attack he is making things happen », he adds.