FELIX HIS WOUNDS

Red card for this silly challenge wrecked his Chelsea debut but boss Potter says Joao now is ready to wow

WEST HAM v CHELSEA

London Stadium: 12.30pm

BY PAUL BROWN

JOAO FELIX is hungry to feast on Premier League defences and prove his critics wrong.

Loan star Felix was sent off 58 minutes into his Blues debut in last month’s embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Fulham and has since served a three-match ban.

But he is set to start at West Ham today and Blues boss Graham Potter is looking forward to seeing the precocious talent of a player who once cost Atletico Madrid £113million.

Potter said: “He is hungry to get back out there, that’s for sure. You can sense that. He is a player who can make a difference.”

Felix (right) was sent off for a poor tackle on Fulham’s Kenny Tete and Potter went on: “It was a forward’s tackle.

They can happen.

You’re keen to impress and make an impact, which he did. But that wasn’t the impact we wanted. And he recognised the situation, that it was a blow for him and us because he’s coming in here to play. To miss three games, and all that time too, means he’s itching to be involved.

“Sometimes you come in and you’ve got freshness.

“You just play off instinct. These players are top players. It can be quite simple for them. For some it’s more complicated because it’s about how they link with people. But he had a nice chemistry with Kai Havertz.

“I don’t want to put pressure on him but he is a top player. And then it’s about how the team can function better. He can help and show his quality.

“He went to Madrid with a big price tag. That tells you something about the quality. Now it’s about him showing that quality and enjoying his football.”

Chelsea, who are likely to be without Raheem Sterling after a training-ground knock, haven’t won an away game since October and could certainly do with the Portugal forward’s firepower.

That is especially true given that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future is in doubt after being left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad.

Aubameyang has been linked with a loan to an MLS club, and Potter admitted it may be that the player wants to leave.

He said: “How he has acted and responded has been really good. At the same time you have to understand that these guys are human beings, and they have families. There might be something that is better for him in the medium term or the

short term.”