Joe Cole has already made his mind up on Chelsea’s Joao Felix after watching his dramatic club debut in yesterday’s loss away to Fulham.
Felix went from hero to zero during an unforgettable debut in English football on Thursday night.
The 23-year-old attacker, who joined this week on loan from Atletico Madrid, immediately injected quality and intent into Chelsea’s forward line.
Graham Potter decided to throw him into the starting line-up for the Premier League trip to Fulham just hours after completing his move to Stamford Bridge.
Despite being heavily involved in goalscoring chances, Felix was sent off early into the second-half for a lunged challenge on Kenny Tete. Therefore, he’ll miss the next three matches through suspension.
Joe Cole verdict on Joao Felix
Cole is convinced Felix is a great signing for Chelsea despite the red card incident.
“I’ve seen enough in 45 minutes to know he’s going to be a good signing for Chelsea. He showed his ability. He showed his personality. One moment of madness changed the game,” Cole told BT Sport 1 (10:05pm, 12 January).
If you can separate the performance from the sending off, there’s a lot to be excited about with Felix.
He definitely looked sharper and more creative than Chelsea’s others attackers, which is remarkable when you consider he trained once with the squad on the previous day.
It looks like he’s going to add serious ability to a starting XI that’s struggling, but the main issue is that he can’t play until 11 February because of his suspension.
We sound like a broken record here, but Chelsea individuals really need to step up now.
It surely won’t escape the players just how important Sunday’s home match against Crystal Palace actually is because things will get toxic in the stands with another poor result.
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