Felix a 'special player' - Benfica boss Lage

Benfica manager Bruno Lage has described Chelsea's Joao Felix as a "special player" amid links of a move back to his boyhood club for the forward.

The Portugal international was not selected by manager Enzo Maresca to play in the Club World Cup and is expected to be sold this summer.

Felix, who spent last season on loan at AC Milan, has struggled since leaving Benfica for Atletico Madrid at the age of 18 for £113m - the fourth-most expensive transfer at the time.

The 25-year-old attended one of Benfica's group games in Miami last week and when asked about the prospect of Felix returning, Lage said: "We have talked about Joao Felix [coming back] since he left Benfica.

"He is a special player for Benfica, for me, and he is on his holidays. He is maybe asleep now because he is on the other side of the world. It's important to be focused on the players who are going to play against Chelsea."

Lage also said the player workload issues of competing in the Club World Cup are "very hard" and praised Pedro Neto, who he managed when in charge of Wolves and has two goals in two matches at the tournament.

"For me, he is one of the best wingers in the world. They are very good, but they also know that we are a good team. I expect an excellent game.

"When I look to my players, they give me the reasons to believe that it's 50-50. So, we go with that ambition [to win]."