Joe Cole claims this Chelsea B team player can get "25 goals a season" if he upgrades this part of his game
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Joao Felix was one of the stars of last night's Chelsea win over Noah. He scored a couple and showed the fans plenty of his flair. Speaking on TNT Sports after the game, Joe Cole raved about the Portuguese's performance:
"You have to remember with Joao, he was a big signing and a £100 million player at some point, his career has obviously gone here, there and everywhere but he's very, very talented, he wants to make Chelsea his home," Cole explained.
"When he first came to the club I was blown away by how good his movement was. This is actually what he needs to take his game to the next level, finishing with that kind of composure. Once he can bring this to his game he can be a 20, 25-goal a season man.
"Everything else in his game is on point. He's great on the half turn, he can give you an assist, he's busy.
"He could be forgiven for feeling sorry for himself because he should be a starter with his quality. He's given the manager a headache."
Felix shows glimpses of immense talent again – but Chelsea need more
Felix is a immensely frustrating player – but that's only the case because of the exquisite quality he shows when he plays well. If he was rubbish the whole time there would be no problem. It's just that he shows enough glimpses – his finishes last night and the silky nutmeg to set up Christopher Nkunku – that his bad days are that much more frustrating.
For that reason, we're not sure Maresca has quite the "headache" that Cole claims. We don't think these games tell Maresca much that he doesn't already know about the strengths and weaknesses of the attacker, who still doesn't offer enough defensively to get a look in in a big game ahead of the players Maresca prefers.