Pochettino asks Joao Felix to exit Chelsea squad

Barely 24 hours after the official confirmation of his appointment as Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino made his first move as the manager of the club after revealing that Portuguese midfielder Joao Felix would not be retained at the club but rather return to Atletico Madrid.

Mauricio Pochettino has decided that João Félix will not play at Chelsea next season, Atlético president Enrique Cerezo confirmed. The forward will return from his loan after scoring four goals since joining in January.

“The truth is that I can’t tell you the plan with Joao. It’s the news we had yesterday that the new coach doesn’t have him for Chelsea. We don’t have anything planned yet; Joao is an Atletico player now.” Enrique Cerezo said.

This is barely a week after the player himself admitted doubts about the possibility of staying at Chelsea after the season.

What is more worrisome for Chelsea fans is the fact that midfielder Mason Mount is linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, meaning that the club could lose two midfield personnel.

However, some could see it as a way of trimming a bloated squad that had over 30 players last season, no thanks to the transfer activities of the club that saw them bring several players into the team spending £550M between July last year and the January transfer window when Todd Boehly took over.

Many Chelsea fans do not agree with the decision to let Felix return as the player was said to enjoy the time spent in London as he made sixteen Premier League appearances and four UEFA Champions League games, scoring four goals in total.

It is believed that Felix’s exit is fuelled by the imminent arrival of Christopher Nkuku from RB Leipzig. Joao Felix’s start to life in England began with a red card on his Premier League debut against Fulham in January.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu