Chelsea have signed Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth £44.5million. The Portugal forward has agreed a six-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months. Atletico also have a sell-on clause as part of the deal.
Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate this summer’s senior Premier League moves in five categories, with each aspect given a score out of 100, to reach a total score out of 500. Hence, The Athletic 500. The ratings are explained in more detail here (note: not all deals will be covered in this series of articles, as there may be a lack of data to support an analysis).
Below is our rating for former Chelsea loanee Joao Felix’s return to Stamford Bridge.
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Tactical fit — 71/100
A look at how the player fits into his new club tactically, using Sentient Sports’ bespoke tactical-fit model, explained by our tactical expert.
Joao Felix’s move back to Chelsea has surprised many after being loaned to the club by Atletico Madrid for the second half of the 2022-23 season, especially considering the make-up of the Premier League side’s current squad. He primarily plays as a second striker, but can function as a left-winger or false nine, and one of his strengths is his ability to demand the ball at his feet.
The 24-year-old spent almost all of last season on loan from Atletico to La Liga rivals Barcelona.
Here, in the Catalans’ 5-0 win against Real Betis last September, he receives a pass from Gavi and drives into space. He carries the ball to the right side, where he could play a pass to Ferran Torres. The Betis players are drawn to the ball, and gather around Joao Felix to try to prevent him progressing any further. But he cleverly plays a pass to the left for striker Robert Lewandowski, who takes a shot on goal.
Joao Felix is able to link play and execute short, quick combinations in tight spaces. His connection with team-mates not only allows transitions but also encourages greater fluidity in attacking phases.
As shown below, his ball-carrying leads to opportunities — and goals. The 41-cap Portugal international tends to move from left-sided areas into central zones, where there is greater potential for creativity due to the increased space and greater tactical advantages.
He is known for his agility and intelligence in finding space, which suits new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca’s emphasis on attacking inside channels. His ability to make runs allows him to drift between defenders, creating mismatches that can exploit gaps in the opposition’s back line. He is able to drop into midfield and create numerical advantages centrally.
Despite these positives, the slight Joao Felix’s lack of physicality and inability to impose himself could be a challenge. He averages 1.8 dispossessions and 2.6 miscontrols per 90 minutes. He may struggle when pressed in games, making him susceptible to losing possession.
Moreover, there is going to be stiff competition for places within Chelsea’s attacking lineup, and the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer also prefer to operate in similar half-spaces and central areas, which could lead to congestion and limit Joao Felix’s effectiveness and minutes.
Gillian Kasirye
Season rating: 70/100
Rating the player over the course of last season, using statistics from The Athletic’s data team.
Joao Felix endured a middling club season yet again, showing flashes of his potential but without sustained consistency.
Having begun the season with Atletico, though he didn’t play in any of their first three games, he was loaned out to Barcelona for the rest of the campaign in a deal completed on deadline day at the start of September.
His first start for the Catalans brought his first goal for them in the 5-0 rout of Real Betis mentioned above. Two assists followed in his next five La Liga appearances, and he also scored twice and had an assist against Royal Antwerp of Belgium in another 5-0 win in Barca’s opening Champions League group game.
However, Joao Felix experienced a 12-match goalless run between September and November, before scoring crucial goals in back-to-back wins over Porto in the Champions League and parent club Atletico in La Liga. Despite that burst of form, his place in the starting XI no longer seemed secure, while an ankle injury in late January saw him miss four matches.
Joao Felix ended the season by scoring three times in Barca’s final 13 league matches (he only started four of them, and none of the last seven) to reach the 10-goal mark, also finishing with six assists in 44 appearances for them across four competitions.
His status as a fringe player in the biggest games is made clear by the fact he was on the pitch for just 50 combined minutes across their four matches in the Champions League knockout phase.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Gaming rating: 83/100
Rating the player according to Football Manager 2024’s data across both current and potential ability.
Joao Felix, according to Football Manager, has the quality to compete for a first-team place at Chelsea immediately and the potential to become their best attacking player.
His current ability rating on FM24 is 153, which compares well against the club’s other present options in forward positions. For context, Raheem Sterling, who was left out of the squad for the 2-0 home defeat against Manchester City in Chelsea’s opening game of the Premier League season on Sunday, has a rating of 161, just behind top-rated Nkunku (162).
It feels as if the world has been waiting for Joao Felix to realise his prodigious potential since that excellent season at Benfica in 2018-19, but Sports Interactive’s extensive scouting network remains convinced there’s a player in there. Joao Felix has a potential ability rating of 177, which would make him comfortably Chelsea’s best forward and one of the best in the Premier League.
Elias Burke
Financial value rating: 50/100
A four-category summary of the player’s transfer in financial terms — and whether it makes sense for his new club
Market value — 14/25
Joao Felix has cost Chelsea £44.5million, which, on the surface, does not appear a ridiculous sum of money for a 24-year-old with 41 caps for Portugal. Still, given his struggles to fulfil his potential since moving from Benfica to Atletico for over €126m in summer 2019 as a 19-year-old, it represents a hefty chunk of change.
Squad cost — 11/25
Joao Felix is joining a cluttered forward-line situation, with Chelsea having already strengthened there this summer with the arrivals of Wolves’ Pedro Neto and Barcelona prospect Marc Guiu. There does not appear to be an obvious starting role for him.
This move also appears to allow for the departure of Chelsea fan-favourite Conor Gallagher, who has joined Atletico. The optics of Joao Felix being a makeweight as another Cobham academy graduate leaves the club before fulfilling their potential will not go down well with the supporters, who remain unconvinced about Chelsea’s direction under the Boehly/Clearlake Capital ownership group.
Contract sensibility — 13/25
What to do when buying a player who has largely underwhelmed for repeated recent seasons at a string of clubs, including your own? Well, give him a six-year contract with the option of an extra year on top, of course!
Few would deny Joao Felix’s talent, and he has sometimes shown the quality to be a decisive player on the European and international stage, but there are questions over whether he can produce the level of performance often enough to justify his transfer fee and salary (though he fits into Chelsea’s wage structure with significant performance-related bonuses). Perhaps Stamford Bridge is where Joao Felix finally blossoms into the player he can be, but this financial commitment over six to seven years raises questions.
Resale value — 12/25
Since that transfer to Atletico five years ago, Felix’s worth in the market has declined. While he proved an awkward fit in the Spanish capital under coach Diego Simeone, a situation he could perhaps be forgiven for, he has not delivered consistently during two loan moves over the past two seasons — including spending the second half of 2022-23 at Chelsea.
If he delivers in west London this time, Felix’s worth will skyrocket again, and this signing could go down as a steal. Still, given the intense competition for places at Chelsea and limited assurances over game time, he might again find himself out of sorts, and with his value declining further.
Elias Burke
Risk or reward? 45/100
Is there a history of injury or other problems that could crop up and make this deal a bad one in retrospect? Or does the player come with a clean bill of health? Our expert takes a look.
There’s a universe where Joao Felix comes to Chelsea and proves an excellent signing.
In that universe, he takes over from Nicolas Jackson as Maresca’s starting No 9 and builds a telepathic rapport with Palmer, Nkunku, Neto and Enzo Fernandez, scoring 15 to 20 Premier League goals this season on his way to helping the club to Champions League qualification.
That could happen, and he has the quality to become that kind of player, but it’s unrealistic.
What seems far more likely is that Joao Felix finds himself in and out of Maresca’s team, competing for game time with several other talented attackers who appear not to have been recruited to boost squad harmony or help the team on the field but for something else.
He’s also had several niggling injuries since leaving his homeland five years ago. From his 2019-20 debut season with Atletico, Felix has been sidelined for one game or more on 13 occasions, including a muscle injury in 2022 that kept him out for 10 matches. It appears he has largely put those fitness woes behind him, as he has only suffered one notable injury in the past two years, but his health record will be a minor concern for Chelsea.
Elias Burke
Overall rating: 319/500
(Photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
