A nonsensical arrival at first glance, but it makes sense. Why is Chelsea taking Felix on loan without an option?

This decision shocked many a fan. Chelsea bringing in Joao Felix, there would be nothing strange about that. It’s just that it’s a six-month loan deal with no option, for which the Blues will also pay handsomely. But it makes sense.

More than one fan is shocked by this transfer. What the heck, bringing in the talented Joao Felix is great when Chelsea were fighting Manchester United or Arsenal for him. However, the form of the arrival is surprising.

Chelsea are bringing the young Portuguese on a six-month loan deal without an option, for which they will pay €11 million. In addition, the Blues will take over the entire salary, which is €6 million for half a year, so in total the Blues will pay €17 million for the six-month loan.

That’s a crazy amount for a player who will only be available for 5 months. However, Chelsea are at crisis point and are looking for a solution. And when you take the bigger picture, you can understand the situation.

Chelsea are in a lot of trouble at the moment. They are only 10th in the Premier League, they have scored the second fewest goals (20) out of the top 14 teams in the league and they have to face reality. The Blues must pull out all the stops and try to finish in the top 6 to even play in the cups next year. A Champions League triumph is not expected.

And the dream top six is not that far away. Sixth-placed Liverpool have only three points more than Chelsea and are not exactly in good form either. Between the two teams are Fulham, Brighton and Brentford. They are all having a great season, but will the trend continue for another 20 rounds?

Thus, the London club promises that the arrival of Felix will help it immediately to improve its performance and, more importantly, results. And why not bring him in permanently? Actually, it doesn’t need to, because the already agreed Christopher Nkunku, who is very similar in style to Félix, will arrive in the summer.

So Chelsea weren’t even looking for a longer term option, they needed an acute and immediate replacement who won’t take the place of the star man in the summer if they fail. And you don’t find many of those on the market.

So the club’s management doesn’t even have to worry about Félix not making it in England and having to deal with more blown money. Sure, they’d lose 17 million euros, but honestly in today’s market and with the options available to Chelsea’s owners… it won’t draw a line under the budget.

So Felix is an either or bet where Chelsea have little to lose. If it works and the Portuguese helps the Blues to a top 6 finish, they will be wringing their hands at Stamford Bridge about what a brilliant move it was. If it doesn’t work, it will be a new ball game from the summer onwards and the management can have a clear conscience that they did everything they could to ensure success.

Source: Twitter, Fabrizio Romano