Could the Joao Felix Chelsea debut be happening this weekend? The Portuguese attacker has officially re-signed for the Blues from Atletico Madrid after spending half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Stamford Bridge.
New manager Enzo Maresca got off to the worst possible start as his team lost 2-0 at home to the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on the opening weekend, and will want to bounce back quickly as they face a potentially tricky trip to Wolves next up.
As such, Chelsea's board have sanctioned yet another forward transfer to help the Blues' toothless attack, with Felix arriving for a reported £46.3m after the recent arrival of his fellow countryman Pedro Neto from Wolves for £54m.
Will Felix be thrown straight into the deep end? We have explored how Chelsea could line up at Molineux with him in the side, and what he can offer to the team.
Joao Felix Chelsea debut: Could he be thrown straight into the Wolves?
Felix could make his debut away at Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday 25th August at 2pm. It will be interesting to see if Maresca starts him straight away or uses him from the bench.
Chelsea lined up with Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku out wide and Nicolas Jackson through the middle against Manchester City, with Enzo Fernandez playing in a number 10 role ahead of more defensive midfielders Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Against an easier opponent on paper in Wolves, Maresca may opt to drop one of these defensive midfielders and have Fernandez playing deeper, where he is more natural.
As such, should the Blues start with the same three attackers, Felix could be deployed in the number 10 role, or even as the central striker instead of Jackson, with perhaps Palmer moving into the number 10 position and Neto coming in at right-wing for his first Chelsea start.
Felix's versatility makes him a great asset to this side, although he will want to have a better debut than in his first spell at Chelsea. Indeed, he got sent off in a 2-1 defeat at West London rivals Fulham in the Premier League, but went on to score four goals in a total of 20 appearances over all competitions.
However, Felix produced no assists for his teammates at Stamford Bridge, which is worrying should he be deployed in the creative number 10 position. He will be familiar to some of his teammates though from his first spell, which may accelerate the chemistry that he builds with them on the pitch.
At 24 years of age, Felix still has plenty of room for improvement, but he does possess a lot of talent as shown in his days at Benfica. Indeed, he netted 20 times and produced a further 11 assists in 43 games in total across all competitions as a teenager, which prompted a big-money move to Atletico in the first place.
