ESPN pundit and former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchinson believes Chelsea manager Graham Potter should deploy Joao Felix alongside Mason Mount.
The Blues brought Felix in on loan from Atletico Madrid earlier this week. According to journalist David Ornstein of The Athletic, they paid a loan fee of around €11 million and will be covering his wages for the rest of the season.
Fans of the club are interested to see how Felix will fare and whether he can lift a struggling team. Potter’s men currently sit 10th in the Premier League after 17 matches and are 10 points adrift of Manchester United in fourth and 19 behind leaders Arsenal.
Chelsea seem to be in desperate need of a spark and Hutchinson believes Felix should be named in their starting XI straightaway. He also feels the forward, 23, could work well with Mount, 24, and said on ESPN FC (as quoted by The Chelsea Chronicle):
“I think Mason Mount is the least of Graham Potter’s worries. Play them together (Mount and Felix), two good players. He’s got an injury list as long as your arm… If you’re getting Joao Felix in, play him.”
Felix notably joins the Blues after a difficult first half of the season with Atletico Madrid. The Portuguese forward started just seven of their 16 La Liga matches before his departure, recording four goals and three assists. He didn’t register a single goal contribution across 210 minutes of UEFA Champions League action.
However, Felix enjoyed a fruitful 2022 FIFA World Cup with Portugal, scoring once and assisting twice in four appearances.
Mason Mount has also endured a tough first half of the season with Chelsea
Similar to Joao Felix’s struggles at Atletico Madrid, Mason Mount hasn’t had the best of campaigns so far for Chelsea.
The Englishman has scored just thrice in 16 Premier League appearances this term while laying out two assists. He did, however, enjoy a solid group-stage campaign in the UEFA Champions League, recording four assists in six matches.
Overall, Mount has registered three goals and six assists in 29 games across all competitions so far this season. It is a far cry from the form that saw him finish with 13 goals and 16 assists in 53 matches in the 2021-22 campaign.
It remains to be seen if Felix’s arrival can also help Mount elevate his own game. The duo could take to the pitch together for the first time when Chelsea meet Fulham for a league encounter at Craven Cottage on Thursday, January 12.
