Chelsea loanee Joao Felix has admitted that Champions League qualification will be “important” in deciding his future at the end of the season.
In January, the Blues paid a £9.7million loan fee to sign Felix from Atletico Madrid until the end of 2022-23.
This was seen as a hefty price to pay for a player who would only spend six months at the club.
Felix showed what he is all about on his debut, running the show against Fulham before his Atletico Madrid mentality came out and he was shown a straight red card and suspended for three matches as a result.
He has impressed in a pretty poor Chelsea side and fans are hoping to see his move become permanent in the summer.
However, the Portuguese international signed a contract extension with Atletico before completing his temporary switch to the Blues, meaning the La Liga side will likely ask for a humungous transfer fee to let him leave.
Signed for £113m from Benfica in July 2019, Atletico are reportedly reluctant to make a loss should he depart.
The only thing that hints Felix could leave the Spanish side is his poor relationship with manager Diego Simeone.
They apparently do not see eye to eye, though the player’s recent contract extension does suggest that Simeone will not be in charge next season.
It already looks unlikely that Chelsea will be unable to sign Felix on a permanent basis this summer, and the player has now admitted that Champions League football will play a big part in his future plans.
The Blues are currently 10th in the Premier League, 11 points off the top four, and have scored fewer goals than every single team above them and the same or less than four of the sides in the bottom half.
So it is safe to say that it will be very difficult for Graham Potter to guide his side into Europe’s premier competition.
Another route into the Champions League is by winning the competition this season.
Chelsea are 1-0 down on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund and host the German side in their last-16 second leg on Tuesday.
“Yeah, playing in the Champions League is always different,” Felix said on Monday. “It’s a competition that everyone wants to play.
“But now I’m focused on this Champions League, on the game. We have a lot of games yet to try to reach the Champions League in the league.
“It’s not over. But, yeah, playing in the Champions League is an important decision, but the future no one knows, so let’s see what happens and then we’ll see.”
There is some hope,…
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