Chelsea's Felix completes AC Milan loan move
Chelsea forward Joao Felix has completed a loan move to AC Milan until the end of the season.
The Italian side have paid a £5m loan fee for Felix, with no obligation to buy the 25-year-old Portugal international in the summer.
Though the deal was only announced on Tuesday, the required paperwork was submitted in advance of Monday's Serie A and Premier League transfer deadline.
Felix signed a seven-year contract when he moved to Chelsea on a £45m permanent deal in August, having had a loan spell at Stamford Bridge during the second half of the 2022-23 season.
He has only started three Premier League matches this campaign, though regularly featured in cup competitions, scoring seven goals.
The forward began his career at Benfica and moved for £113m to Atletico Madrid in July 2019, a deal which at the time was the fifth-most expensive transfer in history.
He spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Barcelona before his move back to Stamford Bridge last summer.
Milan, eighth in Serie A, play Roma in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday and have a two-legged play-off against Feyenoord in the Champions League this month.
'Man for the small occasions' - analysis
BBC Sport football news reporter Nizaar Kinsella:
The writing was on the wall for Joao Felix when he barely celebrated his two goals against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round in early January.
The Portugal international has been 'the man for the small occasions' at Chelsea, the Telegraph match report said.
It highlights how Felix mostly only starts against lesser opposition in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Conference League under manager Enzo Maresca.
The main reason he has struggled for minutes is Cole Palmer's presence as a number 10, while the fact Christopher Nkunku is not joining Manchester United or Bayern Munich is another reason to send him out on loan.
It's a strange situation given the attacker once cost £113m when signed by Atletico Madrid in 2018, and was given a seven-year deal by Chelsea just last summer.
Having previously been on loan Chelsea and Barcelona while he was an Atletico player, he is looking at his third temporary home as he tries realise the potential he showed when first breaking through at Benfica.
