Enzo Maresca will surely regret Chelsea’s £43m transfer decision, two goal ex-star outshone Ronaldo

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Chelsea always appear to be active in the transfer market, and that was certainly the case once again this summer.

Todd Boehly has taken his fair share of criticism for his wheeling and dealing at Stamford Bridge, but his approach has yielded results, with his side winning the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup, and returning to the Champions League this season.

Of course, Chelsea would have liked to have recruited further before the deadline after Tottenham Hotspur hijacked Xavi Simons and long-reported transfer target Gianluigi Donnarumma joined Manchester City.

The Blues sanctioned approximately £284 million on new talent while recouping a remarkable £288m in player sales, resulting in a net profit of £4m for the transfer window.

However, there is one former star that Enzo Maresca may now regret selling after his scintillating display on international duty with Portugal.

Joao Felix outshines Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal

Joao Felix signed for Al-Nassr in a £43 million deal in July after the Portuguese international failed to improve upon his impressive debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.

And the 25-year-old has started life in phenomenal form in Saudi Arabia – Felix scored a hat-trick on his Al-Nassr debut, and he has continued his goalscoring exploits with the national side.

TBR Football reported that Cristiano Ronaldo played an integral role in helping Al-Nassr secure Felix’s signature this summer, and now his Portuguese compatriot is upstaging the Manchester United legend on the international stage.

Although Ronaldo also scored a brace in the 5-0 win against Armenia on Saturday, Felix acquired the higher average match rating and proved to be more influential for Roberto Martinez.

Indeed, the one highly-rated prospect’s career has not panned out as initially hoped, and Felix has spent the majority of his career hopping from club to club since his £109m move to Atletico Madrid via Benfica in 2019.

However, Liam Delap is sidelined for two months after sustaining an injury inside the first 15 minutes of the 2-0 win against Fulham, forcing Chelsea to recall Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland. Surely, Felix would have been a more worthwhile replacement for Maresca.

Joao Felix would have been a great option for Chelsea

Although Felix has not managed to record a double-digit goal contribution return since his spell at Barcelona in the 2023/24 campaign and has not reached double-digit goals since his breakout campaign at Benfica in 2019, there is still a quality player there.

Furthermore, Nicolas Jackson departed Stamford Bridge to join Bayern Munich on loan for the season, leaving the Blues with an unproven rotation option behind Joao Pedro.

And what the statistics fail to show is that Felix produced a string of sensational performances during his maiden year at Chelsea, which earned him a permanent transfer the following summer.

Nevertheless, Maresca is pinning all his hopes on Pedro remaining injury-free until Delap returns to the squad. With a hectic domestic and European schedule ahead after the international break, the decision to sell Felix could ultimately backfire for the Blues.