João Félix has made a big impression at Stamford Bridge since joining Chelsea on loan in January. Liverpool should seize on a Todd Boehly transfer ‘oversight’.
João Félix has made quite the impression since arriving on English shores just four weeks ago. The Portuguese international joined Chelsea on loan in the winter transfer window, and in his debut appearance against Fulham, he picked up a red card.
Up until his dismissal, Félix was his team’s best player by some distance, offering the threat in attack that Graham Potter’s outfit have been lacking this term. After serving his suspension, the Atlético Madrid loanee started against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon and scored Chelsea’s only goal of the game.
So far, Félix has painted himself as quite a prominent figure at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool should be paying attention due to one particular reason. This summer, Roberto Firmino’s contract is due to expire, and Jürgen Klopp doesn’t yet have an heir to his throne.
Although Félix is destined to remain in London until the end of the campaign, it is curious that upon striking a deal for his signature, Todd Boehly did not include an option to buy in his short-term Chelsea contract.
The tricky forward has admitted as much. Speaking in a conversation with AS, he said: “I feel very good at Chelsea, I like the club. There’s no option to buy in the contract, so if they want to keep me, they’ll have to find an agreement with Atlético.”
Félix looks almost certain to be available on the market in the summer, especially considering recent comments made by Diego Simeone, who remains in charge of the Madrid outfit.
João Félix is not necessarily set for a long-term stay at Stamford Bridge, which should attract Liverpool transfer attention. (Image: Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
“With João, I’m finding it difficult to get the best out of him, but that’s something I have to resolve,” said the Argentine coach, and towards the end of last year, Gil Marin made a bold statement to TVE.
“He is the biggest bet this club has taken in its history,” said the club’s CEO. “I personally think he’s a top talent, a world class player. The relationship between him and the boss, the minutes played, his motivation right now, it makes you think that the reasonable thing is that if there’s an option that’s good for the player, good for the club, we can look at it.”
The circumstances surrounding Félix should grab the attention of Klopp. The Reds boss has constructed an attack around the strengths and weaknesses of Firmino since his appointment at Anfield back in 2015, but the Brazilian is past his peak.
Now 31 years old, his contract is due to expire in the summer, with his future on Merseyside
Klopp has described Firmino as a ‘connector’ in the past. “”A football team is like an orchestra, to play we need to have people for different instruments, and Bobby plays like 12 instruments in our orchestra,” he once said. “He is incredibly important for our rhythm.”
Firmino is cultured, subtle and cute when in possession. He makes the ball stick for the Reds and keeps things ticking over in the final third, which is easier said than done. Félix isn’t too dissimilar in that sense, with the duo possessing comparable qualities across the board.
“Those with football knowledge know how important he is,” Klopp said of Firmino two years ago. “I’m pretty sure people will write books about how he interpreted the false nine position. I won’t say he invented it, but the way he plays it, it looks like it.”
Few players can offer the same skills in the same spaces as Firmino, but Félix is as much of a clone as Liverpool is ever likely to find and in just a few months, he’ll be attainable. It remains to be seen whether Klopp will target him considering his desperate search for a midfielder, but his progression at Chelsea in worth tracking. The one permanent deal Boehly didn’t strike is perhaps the one he should have pursued.
Source: liverpool.com
