Exclusive: Euro giants hold fresh contacts over “complex” Chelsea transfer deal | OneFootball

Chelsea forward Joao Felix remains a transfer target for AC Milan but sources have described the deal as looking “complex” to get done this January.

CaughtOffside understands that Milan are keen to sign Felix, while Chelsea are also open to letting the Portugal international leave if the structure of the deal is right.

Chelsea ideally want a loan with an obligation to buy for Felix, but Milan could struggle to afford the player, and have been discussing the cost of a possible clause to give them the option to sign him permanently.

Talks have taken place, with Milan initially proposing the option of a €35m clause, though it could be that they’d go as high as €40m.

However, for the moment this is not considered enough for Chelsea, CaughtOffside understands.

Joao Felix could be on his way out of Chelsea

Joao Felix in action for Chelsea against Barrow (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

As things stand, there remains some distance to getting a deal done for Felix to leave Stamford Bridge for the San Siro.

Still, overall the feeling is clear that the 25-year-old is available this January after struggling to make much of an impact since joining Chelsea for a second spell in the summer.

The former Atletico Madrid man spent the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Chelsea, before then moving on loan to Barcelona in 2023/24.

With hindsight, it perhaps looks like it was unwise for CFC to think Felix would do much more than he has so far, as he’s had a difficult few years performing well below the levels expected of him.

Milan could perhaps rescue Felix’s career, however, with the Italian giants having a number of Chelsea flops on their books right now.

Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all former Chelsea players currently performing well for Milan, so perhaps Felix could do well to go there and try to revive his career as well.