"He could've been central to the squad" - Pat Nevin admits he is 'upset' with Chelsea's decision to let 23-year-old star go
Former Chelsea forward Pat Nevin has questioned the club's decision to let Joao Felix return to Atletico Madrid following the expiration of his loan contract this summer.
The retired Scottish footballer heaped praise on the Portugal international, insisting he could have established himself as an integral player in Mauricio Pochettino's squad.
Nevin believes the Blues are lacking in the No. 10 position and said that he wanted his former outfit to go for James Maddison this summer, who completed a £40 million move to Tottenham Hotspur from Leicester City.
He told OLBG (as quoted by football.london):
"Chelsea will have a lot of options, but they've already signed a huge amount of players. They also have Nkunku to come back and I think [Armando] Broja will shock everyone. Before his injury, a lot of people thought he was the answer. He's still young, has a great build, and has plenty of potential."
Nevin added:
"Chelsea will know more about those two by January. If I was looking at the squad, I'd upgrade the number 10 position. I really wanted the club to move for Maddison as I love creative midfielders as I was one myself.Players like Maddison, Foden, and De Bruyne are hard to find, and Chelsea have had a lot of them over the years."
He further stated about Felix, who is currently on loan at Barcelona:
"I was upset to see Joao Felix go as I thought he was fabulous. Pochettino probably made the decision to not keep him, but I thought he could've been central to the squad. Just look at his form at Barcelona!"
Felix joined the west London outfit on loan in the January transfer window under former manager Graham Potter. The Portuguese forward scored four goals in 20 appearances across all competitions for the club last season.
"It was a permanent transfer or nothing" - Fabrizio Romano explains why Mauricio Pochettino did not sign on-loan Chelsea star permanently this summer
After his loan deal expired, Atletico Madrid offered the Blues the chance to sign Felix on a permanent deal. The La Liga outfit expected a fee in the range of €70 to €80 million.
However, the west London outfit were reportedly unwilling to spend that amount of money, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. The Italian reporter has now explained why the club did not retain Felix at Stamford Bridge.
Romano revealed that Pochettino was not convinced about the Atletico Madrid star, preferring to rely on Christopher Nkunku instead. He said on his YouTube channel:
"The feeling at Chelsea from June to August was that for Atlético it was impossible to accept a loan deal. It was a permanent transfer or nothing and Atlético knew Chelsea decided against spending €70m to €80m. It was a no for Chelsea from the financial point of view."
Romano added:
"And also from a technical point of view, Pochettino was not convinced about this solution and believed that Nkunku was perfect for Chelsea in that kind of creative position. So, they (Pochettino and the club) decided together to go on a different way."