Stephen Dunmoye
Portugal star forward, Joao Felix’s red card on his Premier League debut would cost Chelsea £2.1million as the blue’s plight continued with a 2-1 loss to Fulham in the West London derby at Craven Cottage on Thursday.
Ex-Blues attacker Willian broke the deadlock against his former club in the first half before Kalidou Koulibaly levelled early in the second period, but Carlos Vinicius’s header 17 minutes from time sealed a well-earned success for the Cottagers.
However, after initially impressing, his debut ended in catastrophic fashion as he was shown a straight red card for a reckless lunge on Cottagers defender, Kenny Tete.
Chelsea agreed to pay a loan fee of £9m for the short-term deal in order to secure the talented forward.
The Blues will also cover Felix’s wages during his spell in west London – estimated to be worth £6m.
This works out as a cost of £15m to the Blues over the remaining 21 Premier League games, including Thursday’s defeat to Fulham.
As a result, Chelsea will be paying £714,286 per game to have Felix as part of their squad as they aim to recover from a disastrous start to the season that has seen them languishing in mid table.
Felix’s dismissal for violent conduct means he will miss the Blues’ Premier League games with Liverpool, Fulham and West Ham.
In total, as part of the loan deal, this three-game suspension for Felix will cost the Premier League giants £2,142,858.
