Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca believes Joao Felix will “find his moment” in the Premier League after just five appearances so far this season in England’s top flight.
The Portuguese forward returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer after securing a permanent move Atlético de Madrid. He spent last season on loan at Barcelona, ​​scoring ten goals in 44 games for the Catalan giants.
Félix’s 2024/25 campaign has been less fruitful so far, scoring just once Premier League of five appearances, all of them coming off the bench.
Chelsea’s Surplus forwards have made life difficult for Felix, leaving the former La Liga star to battle the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke for playing time.
“I’m embarrassed for Joao,” Maresca admitted to reporters ahead of Chelsea’s Conference League tie clash with the Armenian side Noah. “I’m embarrassed for Joao and I’d like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but I’ve said many times that we need defensive balance and we can’t play Joao, Cole (Palmer), Christo (Christopher Nkunku).
“I like to put them all on the pitch but then you also need to defend and you need the right balance between the two phases of attack and defense. Just for that. There is no doubt that Joao is still working well.” has added he will also find his time in the Premier League.”
Maresca also gave an update on the complexity of team selection for different competitions, with Chelsea believed to have an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ squad.
“Those who play in the Premier League doesn’t mean they won’t play in the Conference League and those who play in the Conference League doesn’t mean they won’t play in the Premier League.” he continued
“The season is long, we have a lot of games. I can understand that from the outside you see two teams, but we are one team, a team with 24 or 25 players, they all fit together fortunately and we will fight to use them all.”
The Blues will welcome Noah to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening as they look to continue their dominance in the Conference League.
