Chelsea players are beginning to play their final minutes of 2024 for their countries as the second round of international fixtures conclude.
Enzo Maresca will be starting to get a clearer picture of who he is going to be able to count on to feature when he travels to his old club Leicester City.
Jadon Sancho has already returned to training, as the attack looks set to be stacked again of players who will be hoping they are handed the Premier League start.
Cole Palmer has also been spotted training, easing some fears amongst supporters. Palmer limped away from the game against Arsenal and pulled out of international duty as a result.
His presence in that game came at the expense of Joao Felix, who was unable to hide his frustration that he did not get on the pitch to try and influence the game.
Joao Felix given Man of the Match for Portugal
It seems as if he has taken this frustration into a strong display for Portugal during the international break, where he found the net in a 1-1 draw against Croatia.
A Bola awarded him as Man of the Match, stating that he starred in the centre of attack in a much-changed squad.
They said: “He ran unhesitatingly, anticipating Vitinha’s brilliant pass in the Portuguese half, and only with Livakovic in front of him did he fire a precise shot with his left foot — between the legs of the Croatian goalkeeper — after receiving the ball and making a second touch with his right.
“A star is… a star, and the Chelsea forward has a talent that, unfortunately, especially for him, he doesn’t always manage to translate onto the pitch. In Split, in the centre of the attack, sometimes with Rafael Leão closer, other times with the Milan winger on the left, he was available to play one-twos and link up with his teammates.
“He also forced Livakovic to save for a corner (41′), courtesy of Tomás Araújo’s assist. Like the rest of the team, his performance dropped off in the second half.”
Enzo Maresca could play Joao Felix with Cole Palmer
It remains to be seen if Felix is closing in on what would be a first Premier League start since returning to Stamford Bridge.
He has been forced to play second fiddle for the majority of the campaign so far to Palmer due to the excellence he has shown in his 12 and a bit months at the club.
Maresca has hinted Felix and Palmer could soon feature together, although it is unknown if that is in the works for the trip to Leicester at the weekend.
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