Joao Felix seals Chelsea exit six months after arrival | OneFootball

Joao Felix has officially joined AC Milan on loan, temporarily ending his second spell at Chelsea than six months after it began in August.

The mercurial Portuguese forward rejoined the Blues for around £45m in a deal with Atletico Madrid which saw homegrown academy graduate Conor Gallagher move to Spain for £33m.

Felix had spent six months on loan at Chelsea in the second half of the 2022/23 season, with his time in west London perfectly summed up by his debut against Fulham. After an impressive opening hour, Felix was sent off for a reckless lunge, tainting the promise he had shown.

Enzo Maresca has only afforded the elfin winger more than 60 minutes of action in two Premier League games this season, saving Felix instead for the Conference League and domestic cup competitions.

🔗 Instagram

Sensing an opportunity to pick up the former prodigy on the cheap, Milan quickly registered their interest in the forward. There was reportedly competition from Aston Villa, but the Serie A outfit have secured a loan deal for Felix by agreeing to pay a fee in the region of £5m.

Felix was at San Siro on Sunday afternoon to see Milan battle out a 1-1 draw with city rivals Inter and sat out Chelsea's clash with West Ham United on Monday night. Three of the back four that started for Milan in the derby had been the subject of transfer speculation during this window - the only exception being Kyle Walker, who was making his debut after joining on loan from Manchester City.

The unrelenting churn of the transfer window has taken its toll on incoming Milan boss Sergio Conceicao, who sighed last week: "A month is far too long." However, the Italian giants needed the full length of the window to seal Felix's arrival.