Joao Felix’s arrival in January generated a lot of excitement among Chelsea fans.
The season was at a low point, things were really slumping and the Blues needed a spark.
The Portuguese arrived and looked like just what we needed at first – a bit of spark and flair in an otherwise stodgy team. His first few showings had some nice moments, but that spark soon fizzled out. By the end of the season, everyone was pretty fed up of him – all style and no substance.
Cole Palmer has had the opposite trajectory so far. There was a lot of head scratching about his transfer deadline day arrival, given there was a considerable fee and he had only made a handful of Premier League appearances.
But he’s been like a mirror of Felix so far – playing in similar areas, but with all work rate and productivity and without the useless flicks and tricks.
If he keeps it up, he could really prove to be one of the bigger “sleeper hit” signings of the season.
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