Joao Felix: Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Aston Villa target in focus

• Article originally published as part of Paper Talk: Cutting Through series before Felix joined Chelsea

Joao Felix

• Age: 23
• Position: Forward
• Club: Atletico Madrid
• Country: Portugal

One of the most talked about players in the build-up to the transfer window, speculation about the future of Joao Felix only intensified in the early stages of January.

Signed from Benfica by Atletico Madrid for £113m in 2019, still the fourth-highest fee in history, the 23-year-old Portugal forward has started only nine of Atleti’s 21 fixtures in La Liga and the Champions League this season, making the same number of appearances from the bench.

Highest transfer fees in history

1. Neymar - Barcelona to PSG - £198m
2. Kylian Mbappe - Monaco to PSG - £163m
3. Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to Barcelona - £142m
4. Joao Felix - Benfica to Atletico - £112.9m
5. Antoine Griezmann - Atletico to Barcelona - £107m
6. Jack Grealish - Aston Villa to Man City - £100m
7. Romelu Lukaku - Inter to Chelsea - £97.5m
8. Ousmane Dembele - Dortmund to Barcelona - £97m
9. Paul Pogba - Juventus to Man United - £89m
10. Eden Hazard - Chelsea to Real Madrid - £88m

Diego Simeone’s men currently sit fourth domestically, 11 points behind both Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top, and were eliminated from the Champions League after finishing bottom of a group containing Porto, Bruges and Leverkusen.

Felix’s 237 minutes of European action is far too small a sample size to judge him on, but in La Liga his output doesn't seem to indicate he is a player struggling to make an impact when given an opportunity. He has provided four goals and three assists, with his underlying numbers impressive.

Felix is averaging 0.69 expected goal involvements (xGI) per 95 minutes, not far shy of last season’s 0.77 – standout given that was an injury-ravaged campaign. For context, his much-lauded team-mate Antoine Griezmann is averaging 0.67.

He also compares favourably with the leading attacking midfielders in the Premier League.

However, his limited game-time has been a consistent theme of his spell in the Spanish capital.

Ankle, foot and hamstring injuries meant Felix started only 13 league matches last term, making 11 substitute appearances. In 2020/21 it was only 14 starts (17 from the bench) as he contributed seven goals and five assists, averaging an xGI/95 of 0.60.

His best season in terms of starts came in 19/20, his debut campaign at the Wanda Metropolitano, and even then it was only 21 league starts from a possible 38, with six appearances from the bench (xGI/95 of 0.53).

He is a player who has consistently struggled to feature regularly over the past three-and-a-half seasons.

If he stays fit, his output stacks up alongside Europe’s elite attacking midfielders.

But that seems to be a big if.

More from Sporting Life

• Fixtures, results and live scores
• Expert xG analysis and features
• Transfer news and done deals
• Football and other sports tips
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Podcasts and video content