Joao Felix is said to be set to complete a €50 million move to Al-Nassr, where he will join Portuguese international teammate and football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. On the other hand, Chelsea should consider themselves lucky to be able to recoup the majority of the reported €52 million outlay they made to sign him from Atletico Madrid just a year earlier.
Of course, the exits are not going to stop at Chelsea with Felix. That speaks of the size of the squad that they have assembled at Stamford Bridge.
The next to leave is going to be one of their newest arrivals. As reported by Ben Jacobs, Kendry Paez’s loan to Strasbourg is set to be finalised in the next few days.
When signed, Paez was considered one of the brightest talents in South American football. He is still rated very highly. But it does feel like a bit of that early shine is off, and he needs a place where he can find his feet in European football. Strasbourg makes absolute sense.
Another Chelsea exit set to be finalised after Joao Felix joins Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr
Paez is a phenomenal talent, there is no doubt about that. But translating that to the senior game is a task in itself. Not everybody succeeds in that regard.
Estevao, another South American prodigy, is expected to remain at Chelsea this season. But Paez will be sent out on loan to Strasbourg. There is nothing to be worried about.
Just look at the effect a loan spell at Strasbourg had on Andrey Santos. A year later, he is part of the first-team rotation at Chelsea. Yes, he might not be a starter, but he is in the mix and made four appearances at the Club World Cup. That is largely due to the performances he showed in Ligue 1. Hopefully, Paez will be able to replicate that.