COMMENT: The treatment from Frank Lampard may be unfair, but Chelsea's caretaker manager has actually done Joao Felix's career a favour these past weeks...
It is unfair. There's no doubt about it. Particularly from the player's perspective. Ever since that first defeat at Wolves, Lampard has benched a fully fit and available Felix in the Premier League. There was no danger of changing a winning team, we're all aware of that, yet Felix has been offered only scraps by his manager.
Saturday at Dean Court was almost a humiliation for Felix, the Portuguese getting on with barely minutes left. Yet he still made the most of it, finding the net to settle the game against Bournemouth 3-1 in Chelsea's favour.
As we say, he's had to work on scraps during this six-month loan. But Felix has impressed. The class is visible. The ability you can recognise. On foreign soil and in a new, struggling, team, the talent of Felix has shone through.
This is no knock on Lampard. It's simply clear that the way he wants to set up Chelsea doesn't cater for a player of Felix's type. Which, ironically, could actually work in the player's favour over the long-term.
Circumstances have hit Felix right between the eyes. The squad's upheaval. Graham Potter's sacking. Then Lampard's appointment... The Portugal international arrived on-loan from Atletico Madrid seeking a regular game and some, ahem, stability. Yet these past five months have offered anything but that.
Which makes the impact Felix has enjoyed all the more impressive. Sources from the Cobham training pitches describe Felix as "a marvel". A player in bounce games "you just want to stop work and watch".
And for the fleeting appearances we've had from the attacker, that opinion is shared by those paid to talk about the game. Former Blue Joe Cole has stated, "I saw enough to think that Chelsea should be on the phone to his agent, trying to get that deal done". While Frank Leboeuf, the former Chelsea defender, has also said: "I think he's the most dangerous player, the most entertaining player, the most artistic player at Chelsea right now... in terms of a football player, I would sign him."
Now in normal circumstances this column would accuse both men of exaggeration. Of hyping things up and offering simple throw away opinions. But these aren't normal circumstances. And Felix certainly isn't a normal player. He may not be the right fit for Lampard. Nor Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid for that matter. But his talent, his potential, his immediate ability cannot be questioned. And while his chances of turning this loan into a permanent transfer grow ever more unlikely - much to the frustration of Atleti president Enrique Cerezo - the prospect of Felix returning to the Premier League next season, but in a different shirt, gather pace.
With Lampard restricting Felix's minutes. With no real momentum to build a story around him. Cerezo is increasingly facing the prospect of selling his record €120m signing at a significant loss. Simeone has already made it clear he doesn't see a role for Felix next season. And the player, himself, has let it be known he has no intention of staying if Simeone remains in the dugout. Cerezo knows this. It was the key motivation behind sending Felix to Chelsea. The hope being he would find himself happy in London and also do enough to convince Todd Boehly to spend big - again - to keep hold of the 23 year-old.
The first half of the equation has been met. Felix is happy in England - and playing (when called upon) in the Premier League. The stadiums. The atmosphere. Felix has spoken enthusiastically about what he's experienced since his arrival.
But on the pitch things haven't quite worked out - though not for the want of trying. However in football circles, Felix's reputation remains intact. Indeed, it's been strengthened. Any doubts about his slight frame being unable to handle English football's physical demands have been dispelled. For the limited game time he's had under Lampard, those who matter have seen enough. And without the press hyping up his price, major English clubs feel they can strike terms with Cerezo at a reasonable price.
Manchester City. Manchester United. Arsenal and Newcastle. They're all in for Felix. Chelsea too, it must be said. But at a price of €70-80m, it makes the madcap spending of Chelsea and Boehly not the only option available to Felix this summer.
At a competitive price. And more importantly, with interest from competitive teams. Felix will have his choice of an upgrade from Chelsea. And it will be a choice he must consider carefully. The right manager. The right system. And with guaranteed playing opportunities. Felix needs to get this right. Simeone and Atleti didn't work. Nor has Boehly's Chelsea. But the talent and potential remains. For all these setbacks and frustrations, Felix the footballer remains as coveted and admired as ever.
And thanks to Lampard, he has a wide field to choose from. Chelsea are unlikely to be in the picture. And for the sake of Felix's career, that's a good thing. It can all still fall in place, but for this next move Joao Felix needs to choose right.
