Chelsea star Joao Felix tore off his sock ties and threw them to the floor after he wasn’t brought on against Arsenal on Sunday, November 10, as per The Guardian. Felix is yet to start a Premier League match for the Blues since returning to the club permanently from Atletico Madrid this summer.
He has only played the full 90 minutes under Enzo Maresca in the UEFA Conference League and the Carabao Cup. All five of his Premier League appearances have been off the bench so far.
Moreover, Felix has been an unused substitute in Chelsea’s last four league matches. The last time he played in the English top-flight was against Nottingham Forest on October 6, playing only nine minutes.
Following Joao Felix’s impressive display against Armenian side FC Noah in the Conference League, the Chelsea faithful expected him to start against the Gunners. But Maresca didn’t make any changes to his attacking setup against Arsenal.
In the second half of the all-important game at Stamford Bridge, Maresca first replaced Romeo Lavia and Noni Madueke with Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk, respectively. In the 82nd minute, he brought on Reece James for Malo Gusto and replaced Nicolas Jackson with Christopher Nkunku two minutes before full-time.
Christopher Nkunku considers his future at Chelsea amid lack of regular playing time – Reports
According to the Telegraph, Christopher Nkunku is weighing up his future at Chelsea after failing to secure a regular first-team place under Enzo Maresca. Since Maresca took over the managerial reins at the west London club, Nkunku has only started one Premier League game.
Like Joao Felix, most of Nkunku’s starts for the Blues this season have been in the Conference League at the Carabao Cup. After starting against Manchester City in the first fixture of the campaign, Nkunku has come on nine times as a substitute in the league, including the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
The former RB Leipzig man has made seven starts for Chelsea (five in the Conference League and two in the Carabao Cup). The 26-year-old is thus not happy with the lack of regular playing minutes in the Premier League and is reportedly eyeing an exit from the club.
Manchester United were reportedly interested in the Frenchman in the summer, but made no official proposal. Nkunku is Chelsea’s current top scorer this season with 10 goals in 17 appearances.
