‘A genius’: Graham Potter told to protect 23-year-old Chelsea star to get the best from him

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Graham Potter has been told Chelsea attacker Joao Felix needs coaching staff that will protect him to get the best from him.

Tiago Pinto, who currently works as Roma’s director, is very familiar with Felix from his Benfica days.

Pinto is a former Benfica director of football that worked at the Portuguese giants when Felix was making a name for himself as a rising star.

Now 23, Felix is currently in Chelsea colours experiencing Premier League football for the first time in his career.

He’s struggled in recent years to reach his best form at Atletico Madrid after joining them in a mammoth £113million deal from Benfica in 2019. Therefore, Atletico decided in January to send the attacker on loan to Chelsea until the end of the season.

Pinto has raved about the individual quality of Felix, describing the former Benfica star as a “genius” on the pitch.

It’s interesting to hear him suggest the 23-year-old’s game could be significantly impacted by his manager in the dugout, so let’s see how Potter gets on with him in the next few months during his loan at Stamford Bridge.

“This guy is a genius and a very humble person. He’s not a normal footballer. There is a lot of natural talent and a high confidence in himself. He makes everything seem very easy,” Pinto told The Telegraph.

“He just needs the right context. He needs a coach and technical staff who like him and protect him. Sometimes these guys need someone to treat them a bit differently.”

It’s no secret that Felix’s creative and expressive game didn’t really align with Atletico manager Diego Simeone.

The striker has 34 goals in 131 appearances for the Spanish club, which seems relatively low for someone with his star quality.

A lot of the excitement around Potter’s appointment as Chelsea head coach last year was his track record of working well with individuals on a one-to-one basis.

Felix said in an interview this week he’s feeling good and settled right now at the Bridge, so let’s hope that shows on the pitch.

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