John Obi Mikel has admitted that he’s hoping to see one Chelsea individual perform much better moving forward.
When you look at the current Chelsea squad, there’s no doubt that the club has assembled a young and talented group. Hopefully, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca is the perfect individual in the dugout to gel everything together.
The team has collected seven points from four Premier League matches so far, which included the weekend’s late 1-0 win away to Bournemouth. Incidentally, Alan Shearer called Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez “superb” after his performance in-between the sticks.
John Obi Mikel wish for Joao Felix
Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has now delivered quite an interesting verdict on Joao Felix.
Blues attacker Felix returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer on a permanent basis in a £45m deal (BBC) from Atletico Madrid. This comes after the 24-year-old star previously spent a brief loan in west London in 2023.
Mikel has now shared that he expects a lot from the Portugal international and wants to see him shine in Chelsea colours.
Speaking on his own podcast, Mikel said: “I expect a lot from Joao Felix. Coming back now permanently he’s been at the club before and it didn’t work out really well. He should know the standard that is expected from him. He needs to start putting in those performances.”
The Joao Felix issue
We’ve seen enough from Felix at Chelsea during his first spell to know he’s clearly a talented footballer. In fact, Gabriele Marcotti ranks Felix as one of Chelsea most technically gifted players, as quoted by ESPN.
However, the quite obvious problem for the versatile attacker is that his route into the starting XI looks pretty blocked.
Even though Felix can play central or wide positions, it’s hard to fit him into the best line-up. It means he’s got to be effective and shine whenever he gets minutes on the pitch.
So far, Felix has been used as a substitute in three league matches, which suggests he’s still got some work to do to fully win over Maresca.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
