Chelsea player who showed “frustration” in November will now be twice as annoyed after snubs | OneFootball

Joao Felix must have been delighted to come to Chelsea in the summer.

He’d very much burned his bridges at Atletico Madrid when he pushed to make his loan to Barcelona from last season permanent. When the Catalan club didn’t pony up, he was left with an awkward return to the Spanish capital for preseason.

What a miracle that Chelsea were willing to buy him and free him from the difficult situation there. He will have been under no illusions about being a regular starter, but would have expected to at least be used in a busy Christmas period.

By November, it was already noted that he was showing frustration when he wasn’t chosen to come on with his team needing a goal against Arsenal.

If he was angry back then, imagine how he feels now. In two games in a row where his team have been desperate for a goal in the dying moments, he’s been left on the bench as Enzo Maresca bizarrely refused to refresh his attack.

Felix must despair about getting chances under change-averse Maresca

Joao Felix regrets a missed chance. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

We understand that it’s hard – perhaps impossible – for a manager to take off Cole Palmer when he needs a goal, no matter how knackered the attacker is. But when you’ve reached the “throwing the kitchen sink” stage of a game surely a fresh creative player who can also shoot well from distance should get a chance at some point.

Given how bad his situation was before, we very much doubt that Felix will regret his transfer anytime soon. But if the manager continued to show a lack of trust in the Portugal star and his B team colleagues even when the team is desperate for a refresh, we can only imagine the former wonderkid will start to grow more frustrated.