Joao Felix, the Chelsea forward, signed for Chelsea on an £11 million loan move from the Spanish club Atletico Madrid. The Blue’s struggle this season in the final third is well-documented and the Portuguese forward is expected to turn the numbers around. However few were expecting him to start right away against Fulham on Friday, but Graham Potter had other ideas.

The Chelsea squad is currently rattled with injuries. Several of their key players, such as N’golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Christian Pulisic, Wesley Fofana, and Edward Mendy – to name just a few, are currently sitting on the bench nursing injuries.

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As a result, Potter has been severely restricted in terms of having his best starting eleven up on the pitch. 

To make matters worse, Chelsea are currently in one of their worst forms ever, sitting at 10th in the league table with only one win, three losses, and one draw in their last five matches.

When they last took the field against Manchester City in the FA Cup, the Blues fan sang for previous manager Thomas Tuchel to return as they watched their team lose 4-0 to Pep Guardiola’s side.

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In the post-match press conference, however, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who in Potter’s own words has had a strong influence on him, defended Potter saying that the 47-year-old needs more time to get his team playing to its full potential.

But the Englishman knows very well the pressure of managing a big club like Chelsea and the importance of delivering results on an immediate basis. Perhaps that explains why he decided to start the Portuguese against Fulham even though he hasn’t even had one full week of training at Stanford Bridge. 

Would his desperation pay off? Only time will tell, but the Blues fans will certainly be happy seeing their new forward on the pitch.