João Félix: AC Milan complete loan move for Chelsea forward

AC Milan announced on Tuesday the signing of João Félix on loan from Chelsea for the remainder of the season.

The Portugal international arrived in Milan on Monday and passed a medical before signing a contract with the Rossoneri.

Félix, 25, had attracted interest from several other clubs including Aston Villa but Chelsea’s preference has always been for the forward to join a club outside England.

He joined Chelsea last August in a €50 million ($52m) deal from Atlético Madrid to begin his second spell at the club after spending the second half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Stamford Bridge.

However, Félix has only started in three Premier League games under coach Enzo Maresca and is keen to have regular playing time.

No purchase option has been included in the deal.

Although the club has not revealed the details of the agreement with Chelsea, it is reported Milan will pay a loan fee in the region of €2m-€3m ($2m-$3m). The Serie A club will also be paying all of his wages.

Félix, who has a contract with the Blues until June 2031, becomes Milan’s fifth signing of the January window.

The Rossoneri dominated the window in Italy after bringing England defender Kyle Walker from Manchester City and Mexico striker Santiago Giménez from Feyenoord.

Midfielder Warren Bondo also joined AC Milan on a permanent transfer from Monza while striker Riccardo Sottil has joined on loan from Fiorentina with a purchase option included in the deal.

Félix could make his debut with Milan in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia quarterfinal against Roma.

Zlatan Ibrahimović, the club’s senior advisor, spoke during Giménez’s unveiling on Tuesday, spoke about the reinforcements, saying: “We are not happy with the standings, we made five signings and there have been five departures. This is the team that must change the situation. We have strengthened the team. We did everything in dialogue with the coach [Sergio Conceicao]. In my opinion we have improved the team a lot.”