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Chelsea's on-loan attacker Joao Felix won't join the club on a permanent basis in the summer transfer window, according to a new update.

How has Felix performed for Chelsea?

The Portuguese star made the move to Stamford Bridge back in January, having struggled to find top form in an Atletico Madrid shirt. There were high hopes that he could have a positive impact for the Blues, but in truth, things haven't panned out that way.

Felix has flattered to deceive in a Chelsea shirt, showing sprinklings of quality but ultimately contributing nowhere near enough, scoring just four times in 17 Premier League appearances. He also failed to find the net in four Champions League games, and not a single assist has come his way, in all competitions.

With Mauricio Pochettino now set to be in charge of the Blues imminently, he has a decision to make regarding the 23-year-old, in terms of whether to sign him permanently or not. A fresh claim suggests that a decision has already been made, though.

Will Felix sign permanently for Blues?

According to Football Insider, Felix "is heading out of Chelsea for good this summer", with Pochettino not seeing him as part of his plans and the club "unwilling to meet Atletico Madrid’s demand of nearly £69million to make his Stamford Bridge switch permanent."

Instead, the new Blues boss is "believed to have other targets in mind that the club believed the money would be better spent on", once he officially takes charge on July 1st.

Essentially, Felix's loan move was an audition for him at Chelsea, as he looked for a permanent move away from Atletico, having been given a chance to prove his worth. He has been an undoubted disappointment, however, and while the team's struggles as a whole can be partly used as an excuse, far more was still required.

It is, therefore, the correct decision not to retain the 30-time capped Portugal international's services – he has only scored five times for his country in that time – even though the £195,000-a-week attacker has been lauded as a "special" player by Alvaro Morata in the past.

While Felix is still a young player, he is threatening to not fulfil his vast potential, having won the prestigious European Golden Boys award back in 2019, with the likes of Kylian Mbppe, Erling Haaland and Pedri also scooping the prize in the past. Chelsea needed to see far more from consistency from him, in terms of making his temporary move permanent.

علق يورجن كلوب المدير الفني الألماني لفريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي ليفربول، على مستقبل الثلاثي أرنولد ومحمد صلاح وفان دايك، بعد رحيله عن الريدز.

يورجن كلوب أعلن رحيله عن فريق ليفربول بعد نهاية الموسم الجاري، ليضع حدًا لمسيرته مع الريدز التي بدأت في أكتوبر 2015، وحقق خلالها جميع الألقاب الممكنة.

طالع أيضًا.. كلوب يُعلن موقف محمد صلاح من المشاركة مع ليفربول أمام تشيلسي وآرسنال بعد خروج منتخب مصر من أمم أفريقيا

وصرّح فان دايك أمس بأنه يريد المزيد من التوضيح بشأن عقده الجديد، مع تبقي 18 شهرًا في العقد الحالي الذي وقعه مع الريدز.

وانتشرت تقارير صحفية أمس من صحيفة “ذا صن” البريطانية، أن محمد صلاح ضمن 5 لاعبين، مرشحون لمغادرة ليفربول بعد نهاية الموسم، مع رحيل يورجن كلوب.

المدرب الألماني في المؤتمر الصحفي لمواجهة تشيلسي علق قائلًا: “إنه أمر طبيعي تمامًا، منذ أسبوع لم يكن يعلم أحد بحالتي، لكن لا يزال هناك 18 شهرًا على عقودهم، ولا يوجد شيء يدعو للقلق”.

وأضاف: “الصحف تكتب ما تريد، لكن النادي مستقر، وكل شيء سيكون على ما يرام، أنا متأكد 100% من استمرارهم، وأنصحهم بالبقاء”.

وأشار: “هناك ما يكفي من الوقت لحسم كل شيء، الأولاد يحبون هذا المكان، كل شيء بخير، والبعض يحاول التقليل من ذكاء مشجعينا”.

Liverpool crept to yet another Premier League win yesterday, with a solid but unconvincing 1-0 victory over Brentford.

Jurgen Klopp will likely draw questions from his players for such a startlingly lacklustre display, but with it being their sixth straight league win, the German cannot be too frustrated. It finally feels like after some time the fear factor has returned to the Anfield outfit, just in time for a late European push.

With a few key additions this summer, building upon the slowly improving newbies from their current campaign, the Reds can surely expect a return towards the apex of the table in the coming years.

One of those newer acquisitions had been earning particular praise of late, as Cody Gakpo finally seemed to have found his feet on Merseyside despite a tumultuous start. Failing to score in his first three league games, as well as in two FA Cup clashes, the Dutchman began to draw scrutiny for his performances in relation to his £35m price tag.

However, now boasting six league goals and two assists in 18 appearances, already the nation is starting to see glimpses of what the fuss was all about.

Despite this hype, integration into a new country remains a tricky feat. Not every game can be a success, and yesterday marked one of his weaker showings since moving from PSV Eindhoven.

How did Cody Gakpo play vs Brentford?

It is a testament to the underperformance of the 24-year-old that his 5.9 Sofascore rating was comfortably the worst of any player on the entire pitch. He was anonymous, wasteful, and yet someone survived for the full 90 minutes.

Such a low rating might come as a shock, but when delving deeper into his actual involvement, it quickly becomes clear why he was deserving of such a rating.

Firstly, the Netherlands international mustered just 32 touches all game despite his side enjoying 54% of the ball. For comparison, even his goalkeeper Alisson enjoyed more possession (38 touches).

Had Gakpo at least been efficient, such a lack of influence on the game could be forgiven. However, what exacerbated issues was that the wide man did boast golden chances, two of which he spurned. Such profligacy seeped into an absence of creativity too, as his 80% pass accuracy contained zero key passes made.

Goal’s Neil Jones perhaps summarised the Dutchman’s display best, awarding him a 6/10 rating, while writing that Gakpo ‘looked a little leggy in the second half and somehow didn’t score from virtually on the line.’

A tough day at the office offensively is often possible, but to cap off a truly forgettable afternoon, the 6 foot 4 trickster also lost eigakpoght of the 13 duels he competed in, suggesting that such a shocking display was born of complacency rather than misfortune.

That is something which Klopp will not forgive lightly, and it could cost him his place in the side next time out. His big January addition let him down yesterday.

Tottenham Hotspur's former manager, Mauricio Pochettino, would return to the club "in a heartbeat", according to journalist Ryan Taylor.

What's the latest on Pochettino to Tottenham?

Despite Tottenham fans chanting the name of Pochettino, it appears as though the club's hierarchy have no intention of bringing him back for a second spell in north London, with journalist Alasdair Gold claiming they have shown "zero interest."

Daniel Levy is said to have "gone a little cold" on re-appointing the Argentine, although journalist Dean Jones also indicates the chairman could still be tempted to sanction his return at the end of the season.

There may be competition from London rivals Chelsea, however, with it recently being reported the 51-year-old is open to accepting the job at Stamford Bridge, having held talks in recent days.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, Taylor has indicated the former Spurs boss would jump at the chance to return to north London.

The journalist said: "On the flip side, say you brought Pochettino back in when Conte was sacked; he's got 10 games to work with his squad to decide what he wants for next season. There are positives to it if you can convince him and I think Pochettino would go back to Tottenham in a heartbeat, honestly."

Should Tottenham bring Mauricio Pochettino back?

After being sacked by Spurs, the "fantastic" coach went on to manage Paris Saint-Germain, where he won three trophies, although success is to be expected, given PSG's dominance in Ligue 1.

Tottenham fans will always have fond memories of his first spell in north London, leading the club to the Champions League final, and establishing them as regulars in Europe's elite competition, finishing in the top four in four straight seasons.

A similar rebuilding job may be necessary this summer, considering some of the performances in recent weeks, losing 3-2 at home to Bournemouth, and 6-1 away at Newcastle United on Sunday, after a shocking opening 25 minutes.

Levy has been criticised for his decision to appoint big-name managers, such as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, rather than people with the capability of building a squad over a number of years, meaning it could make sense to bring Pochettino back.

However, Julian Nagelsmann would also fit the mould, having taken Hoffenheim from 15th all the way up to third in the Bundesliga, and it has recently been reported he is ready to accept the Spurs job.

When Nicolas Pepe signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2019 there was much fanfare.

It wasn't every day that the Gunners threw such vast sums of money around, as Unai Emery and co smashed the club's transfer record and shelled out £72m on the Ivorian.

Whether the winger had exceptional numbers or not, that was a lot of cash for someone who was still relatively unproven.

That said, when you welcome a new attacker through the door, there is always going to be widespread excitement.

Here was a player who had bagged 22 times in 38 Ligue 1 outings the campaign prior for Lille, proving himself to be one of the best in the French top flight.

Sadly, Pepe has and likely never will live up to his true potential at the Emirates Stadium.

What went wrong for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal?

After being signed for such a huge price tag, you either sink or swim.

Chelsea are currently feeling the negative impacts of spending upwards of £88.5m on Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk in January, with the Ukranian so far having registered just a solitary assist during his nine outings in Blue.

There are worrying parallels to that of Pepe, who has also struggled significantly during his time on English shores.

Overall, the Ivory Coast international has found the net on 27 occasions while also supplying 21 assists. The quality of each goal is well measured too, with few boasting a better left foot across Europe.

Who can forget his dipping curler from the edge of the box against West Ham or his late free-kick against Vitoria Guimares in the Europa League that picked out the top corner.

Sadly, that quality has been few and far between with the 27-year-old largely reduced to a role on the bench.

So unconvincing has the 6-foot wide man's time in the English capital been, that he's now back in France, on loan at Nice. His eight goals across all competitions are unspectacular and suggest that a lack of consistency still plagues Pepe.

That has been his biggest issue since that mega-money move, even if he did score 16 goals across the 2020/21 campaign.

That record is more than handy but the price tag involved always denoted that he should be reaching truly awe-inspiring numbers.

As such, it has rather harshly seen him labelled as the Premier League's "biggest flop" by African football journalist Ezzedine Said.

Pepe's best position is arguably on the right-hand side of an attack and because of that, it's unlikely he'll ever be a regular in this Arsenal team.

After all, the French-born asset has paid the price for Bukayo Saka's emergence on the scene, a young dazzling star who is now 'the best right winger in the world' – as per Arsenal's GOAL correspondent, Charles Watts.

Few would argue against that statement with the 21-year-old having scored three goals at the Winter World Cup, while registering 13 strikes and ten assists for Arsenal throughout the current campaign.

Pepe was always going to struggle to get in ahead of someone like that and it was typical that Saka's first full season of football came during the former Lille star's debut campaign in England.

Of course, the England international did start out as a left-back in this Arsenal side, but his swift progression into becoming a real Premier League star as a right-winger saw Pepe simply forgotten about.

Arsenal's current number 7 only actually played twice on that right-hand side during the 2019/20 campaign, but the following term, after the club's record-signing had scored just eight times, he featured on as many as 20 occasions from the right.

It was from that campaign that Saka leave Pepe in the dust, without a chance of ever reaching his true potential at the club. For the Gunners, that has only been positive. For the £72m man in question, though, it has left him without a permanent home for the 2022/23 campaign.

As a result, few would bet against the £140k-per-week flanker still being in Islington come next term.

Chelsea have 'got in touch' to bring Porto forward Pepe to the Premier League, according to reports.

What's the latest on Pepe to Chelsea?

Todd Boehly could reportedly be ready to sanction a mass exodus in the summer – to help ease the club's financial pressures – with the likes of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech facing uncertain futures. Indeed, this also means attacking reinforcements could be needed, which is where Pepe comes into play.

The Brazilian’s contract at the Estadio do Dragao isn’t set to expire until 2027 but his impressive performances have caught the eye of Graham Potter. His side were credited with an initial interest in the winger by Record and Portuguese outlet A Bola later revealed that the Blues, alongside top-flight rivals Arsenal, both sent scouts to watch their target in action late last year.

Even though a deal failed to materialise in January, they may have already taken a second bite of the cherry.

According to Globo Esporte (via Sport Witness), Chelsea and the Gunners “got in touch” with Pepe and are the two teams that have emerged as the “strongest” suitors should he leave Porto. The Primeira Liga starlet has “already received offers” ahead of the upcoming window, one of those being a bid worth €50m (£44m) after the player’s representatives were “approached”, though it’s unknown which club that came from.

Would Pepe be a good signing for Chelsea?

Pepe has been lauded an “important” member of Porto’s first-team squad by journalist Fernando Campos and looking at how fearless and prolific he can be in the final third, Chelsea would definitely be getting an excellent acquisition should they be able to sign him.

Sergio Conceicao’s attacker has recorded eight assists and five goals across all competitions this season, as per Transfermarkt, showing how regularly he takes the chances that he creates. The £25k-p/w talent also ranks in the 99th percentile for successful dribbles, highlighting his desire to take on and beat his marker.

Porto’s forward will know what it takes to be successful having lifted four trophies during his time at the club so could bring that winning mentality and instill it into the rest of the squad in SW6. Since the start of his career, Pepe has operated in seven various positions across the pitch, including in the midfield and on the wing down both the left and right flanks, so would add plenty of versatility to Potter’s team should he put pen to paper at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal have not only enjoyed progress on the pitch over the last couple of seasons, with Mikel Arteta’s philosophy paying off, but their business in the transfer market has been wonderful.

Since the start of the 2021/2022 season, the Spaniard has signed Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira, however the deal to bring English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to the club has been one of his finer pieces of business.

He joined for a fee of £24m in 2021 from Sheffield United, and it was clear that Arteta wanted someone who could become their undisputed No.1 between the sticks, ending years of chopping and changing ‘keeper every season or two.

The 24-year-old has not only performed well since joining the Gunners, but his value has now soared, and it appears as though Arteta has struck gold on the player.

How much is Aaron Ramsdale worth now?

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Ramsdale now has a market value of €60 (£53m), which represents a massive 120% rise from the initial financial outlay just under two years ago.

This will only continue to rise too, especially if he can maintain his wonderful performances and Arsenal might finally have an heir to the great David Seaman, nearly 20 years after he left the club.

Across 27 Premier League matches this term, he has kept 12 clean sheets, made 2.3 saves per game – at a success rate of 71% – and succeeded with 100% of his run-outs each match.

He has only committed one error leading to a goal since the start of the league season, and he won 100% of his total duels while taking 32.5 touches of the ball per game, proving that he is comfortable at playing out from the back and building attacks.

With three caps for England, he has a bright future with the national team also, especially if he continues his current rich vein of form.

The Gunners have the joint-second the best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding 25 goals in 27 matches. While a back four of White, William Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko has been a large part of that, Ramsdale’s performances in goal have given the club a wonderful chance of winning a first league crown in 19 years.

He was hailed by Arteta for making an “incredible” save against Leicester City last season and having been signed as a player of excellent potential, he has blossomed into one of the best ‘keepers in the country.

The 40-year-old won’t be looking to sell him anytime soon, but with his value looking like it will only increase, he could very well be tempted should a massive offer arrive in the next few years.

The major talking point surrounding Newcastle United this week ahead of tomorrow’s League Cup final has been centred on the goalkeeping situation, with Magpies boss Eddie Howe having been dealt an unwanted headache following Nick Pope’s red card in the recent defeat to Liverpool.

While that suspension has somewhat soured the mood heading into Sunday’s clash with Manchester United, one notable positive for the Tynesiders will be the return of influential midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes, with the Brazil international having served his three-game domestic ban in recent weeks.

The former Lyon man – who arrived at St James’ Park on a £40m deal in January 2022 – was dismissed late on the semi-final, second-leg victory over Southampton, subsequently ruling him out of the last three Premier League games.

Thankfully, the 25-year-old will be able to feature against the Red Devils at Wembley, with the northeast side having notably failed to win any of the six games that the ten-cap gem has been absent for this season, with Guimaraes having been ruled out through injury earlier on in the campaign.

That fact has laid bare just how integral the £120k-per-week maestro is to Howe’s side, hence the notable lift that it could give to the club to be able to have the playmaker back in action.

Should Guimaraes play against Man United?

As teammate Kieran Trippier only recently stated, the Rio-born superstar is a truly “massive” asset for Newcastle, with the latter man having shone over the last 12 months or so in the centre of the park.

Despite largely operating in a deep-lying role in front of the back four, Guimaraes has already managed to chip in with nine goals and four assists in 41 games in all competitions for the club to date, while he also ranks in the top 5% among his European peers for successful take-ons.

It is the 6-foot sensation’s defensive prowess that has particularly caught the eye, however, with the “world-class” ace – as described by club colleague Dan Burn – also ranking in the top 10% for tackles made.

That quality was evident when Howe’s men came up against the Old Trafford outfit back in October, with that goalless draw in Manchester seeing the midfield menace win five ground duels and register one key pass, having produced an ‘excellent display’, in the words of The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder.

Guimaraes will no doubt be looking to dominate Erik ten Hag’s side once again this time around, with the one-time Athletico Paranaense man likely to fancy his chances up against a midfield that has chopped and changed in recent weeks, following the loss of Christian Eriksen to injury.

The Red Devils will likely be fearful of coming up against such a “magnificent” talent – as lauded by club legend Alan Shearer – with the Brazilian potentially set to prove vital to Newcastle’s hopes of glory.

YouTuber and TalkSport contributor Mark Goldbridge has urged Manchester United to play Victor Lindelof as a holding midfielder this weekend as Casemiro continues to serve his suspension.

The Lowdown: Midfield injuries

Erik ten Hag’s side are currently without three central midfielders due to injury, with Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek all carrying some form of knock.

Meanwhile, Casemiro is unavailable due to his red card against Crystal Palace last week. The Brazilian was sent off after putting his hands around the throat of Will Hughes.

This past week saw the Red Devils opt to play Fred, Marcel Sabitzer and Bruno Fernandes in midfield in their previous Premier League clash with Leeds United, with a trip to Elland Road to come against their midweek opponents.

The Latest: Lindelof holding midfielder?

Speaking on The United Stand, Goldbridge pitched his starting XI for Sunday’s meeting and justified why he would put Lindelof in the holding-midfield role.

He stated: “Casemiro can’t play, so the question is, who are you going to make play the holding midfielder? And I don’t think Sabitzer or Fred can do that. I think it’s a big ask, defensively.

“So I would play Lindelof. I’d give Lindelof a go. Lindelof’s not going to make runs into the box that Casemiro does to score goals. He’s probably not going to hit the sort of passes that Rashford’s benefited from Casemiro, but he can certainly drop in between the two centre-backs.

“He can certainly take the ball off the centre-backs, and he’s certainly defensive and combative because he’s a centre-back.”

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The Verdict: Selection conundrum

In our view, it’s a difficult situation for Ten Hag, as his recent injury crisis and Casemiro’s suspension has limited his midfield options.

We believe there are three candidates to play that holding midfield role in Lindelof, as they’ve all played there in the past.

Going by most recent experience, Fred is probably the best to slot into that position. He’s played there in the Premier League this term, whilst Lindelof and Sabitzer have played there considerably less often and haven’t operated there in the 2022/23 campaign to date.

Ten Hag has certainly done a stellar job with Man United this season, so in our view, we trust him to get it right when selecting his team for the trip to Elland Road, but we don’t feel he needs to take an unnecessary risk despite Goldbridge highlighting Lindelof’s versatility.

James Maw of The Athletic claims that Djed Spence could have some form of future with Tottenham Hotspur despite a loan move to Stade Rennes last month.

The Lowdown: Spence makes loan move

Spence left Antonio Conte’s side this month and will be on loan with the Ligue 1 outfit until the end of the season.

The deal contains no obligation or option to buy for Rennes, meaning he will definitely head back to north London at the end of the season.

Tottenham only bought the player last summer, but he’s struggled for game time this season. Spence has only featured four times for Spurs in the Premier League.

The Latest: Maw makes Spence claim

Speaking to The View From The Lane podcast, Maw claimed that the straight loan is not something you see often in football nowadays and claims the player will be at Spurs next season.

He stated (22:24), “It’s quite rare that you’ll see a loan deal like this with no option or obligation these days. Normally, it will come with one or the other.

“So maybe that’s quite telling the fact that there this is an expectation that he’ll be back at Tottenham next season, and that things will suddenly be different.”

The Verdict: An uncertain future

We believe that if Spence is to have some sort of future with Tottenham, then he’ll have to really impress on loan at Rennes between now and the end of the season.

A straight loan certainly indicates that Spurs have no intention of letting him go immediately, but in our view, there’s one factor around his Spurs move that is a concern.

Conte claimed that signing the 22-year-old was not his decision, it was the club who saw him as an ‘investment’ and not the Italian.

This could mean that the full-back will have to make a massive statement if he’s to impress Conte, he could be harder to impress if he wasn’t signed by him specifically.

What could work in his favour is if Conte leaves at the end of the season when his contract runs out, a new manager may give Spence more opportunities in the first-team next season.

Ex-footballer Trevor Sinclair labelled Spence as ‘the real deal’ when he joined the club after his loan spell with Nottingham Forest.

He told TalkSport that he ran Arsenal players Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli ‘ragged’ in an FA Cup match last season.

Spence has bags of potential and shown what talent he has last season, but he needs to grasp this loan opportunity with both hands if he is to have a long-term future at Spurs under Conte or another manager.