Aghehowa STUNNER leaves Chelsea counting cost of Joao Felix NIGHTMARE

Chelsea’s decision to pursue Joao Felix appears to be backfiring tremendously and more salt was rubbed in the wounds after seeing their alternative transfer target continue to flourish for his new club.

Felix joined the Blues last summer for €52 million but made just three Premier League starts before being loaned out to Milan in January, with Chelsea already losing faith over the 24-year-old’s long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

However, despite scoring on his debut for Milan, Felix has since endured four successive games without a goal or assist and has been widely panned for his performance after the Italian side suffered a disappointing Champions League exit to Feyenoord.

Felix’s move to Chelsea has already ‘aged like milk’ but the misery has been further compounded after the prolific displays of Samu Aghehowa at Porto and knowing the 20-year-old could easily have been plying his trade in West London instead.

STATS

Samu Aghehowa

F (C)

Porto

Samu Aghehowa

F (C)

Porto

All Tournaments

2024/25

• 30

  Games

• 19

  Goals

• 3

  Assists

View all stats

Chelsea had agreed a deal with Atletico Madrid for Aghehowa last summer as part of the transfer that took Conor Gallagher the other way but the move collapsed late on after a reported medical issue.

Aghehowa went on to join Porto for an initial €15m and scored his 19th goal of the season against Roma on Thursday with a stunning overhead kick that only served to remind Chelsea what they missed out on with their error in judgement.

Chelsea left holding Felix bag as Aghehowa flourishes

Aghehowa attracted attention after scoring eight times on loan at La Liga side Alaves last season, with scouts impressed by the speed and footwork of a 6 foot 4 inch forward with little first team experience.

A move to Chelsea seemed like a shrewd deal for both parties, gaining Aghehowa a top level transfer and offering the Blues a much-needed physical alternative to Nicolas Jackson up front.

Therefore it was a surprise when the deal eventually fell through as Chelsea reportedly uncovered an ankle issue while also failing to agree image rights, leaving Aghehowa in limbo as Atletico already had his replacement in place.

A cut-price move to Porto soon materialised and Aghehowa never looked back, netting 13 times in 18 league games this season and already alerting clubs over his potential, having also made his debut for Spain in November.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have seen their sole specialist striker in Jackson sidelined for more than a month, leaving a disillusioned Christopher Nkunku to awkwardly slot in up front despite only scoring twice in the Premier League this season.

Enzo Maresca can now only dream of having a player like Aghehowa available to him and Chelsea could be left counting the cost of their mistake as optimism fades over Felix securing a permanent move to Milan.

With Felix still having more than six years remaining on his contract, Chelsea will watch on as rivals lust over Aghehowa knowing that their striking solution has become their biggest nightmare.