The Portuguese has been loaned out less than six months after returning to Stamford Bridge – but could he finally settle at San Siro?
In the final few hours of the winter transfer window, AC Milan announced the arrival of Joao Felix on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season. The forward's deadline-day departure from Stamford Bridge to San Siro was simultaneously shocking and utterly unsurprising.
Felix had only joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid for £45 million ($59m) last summer, and while it was nothing more than a blatant act of book-balancing by the two clubs involved – Conor Gallagher had also moved in the opposition direction in a technically separate but clearly connected transaction – the Portuguese viewed it "as a chance to find a home".
"After two loans, at Chelsea and Barcelona, I need to stay permanently in one place," Felix told the Blues' official website. "There is no better place for me to be than Chelsea."
Felix couldn't have been more wrong, though. Despite scoring on his second Chelsea debut, he started just three Premier League games during the first half of the season, with the majority of his minutes coming in the Conference League and domestic cup competitions, making a move imperative for one of the game's great enigmas.
So, will a move to Milan be the making of Felix? Or will he be back at Chelsea in four months' time facing an even more uncertain future?
Getty Images SportIll-advised Madrid move
It's now six years since Felix exploded onto the scene as a teenager by scoring 20 goals in his first season in the professional ranks at Benfica. Sadly, he's not come remotely close to matching that tally even once in the interim.
Making a mess of arguably the biggest decision of his career didn't help. In the summer of 2019, Felix had "several clubs" competing for his signature, and yet for some reason he chose the one least suited to his carefree style of play. Atletico Madrid were searching for an Antoine Griezmann replacement at the time and believed Felix fit the bill, but it quickly became clear that he didn't share Diego Simeone's belief that forwards are effectively the first line of defence.
There were some highs during his time at the Metropolitano – Atleti won the Liga title in 2020-21 – but they were greatly outnumbered by the lows. Simeone simply lost all faith in Felix, who has always been open about the fact that he requires the complete trust of those around him in order to flourish.
AdvertisementAFP'Need to have commitment'
As a kid, Felix had originally been on the books of Porto, but parted company with the club in 2014. "They didn’t believe in me as much as I believed in me," he wrote in . "They didn't trust me on the field… At Porto, I lost my joy."
It was the exact same story at Atletico. Felix may have been as gifted as Griezmann – perhaps even more so – but he was nowhere near as industrious. As Simeone famously warned while discussing Felix's struggles, "As well as talent, you need to have commitment. When a player realises why he is playing for Atletico, only then everything comes together."
Felix never really got it, though, and so it came to pass that when Simeone welcomed Griezmann back from Barcelona with open arms, Felix suffered the ignominy of losing his starting spot to the man he had been bought at great expense to replace.
Getty Images SportFrom a bygone era
With Simeone having made his feelings on Felix very clear indeed, Atletico naturally tried to sell the club's most expensive signing ever, but finding a buyer proved incredibly difficult. There were obviously financial factors at play there, in terms of wages and Atleti's desperate attempts to recoup as much of their original investment as possible.
However, the feeling that Felix is a player from a bygone era didn't help either. Twenty years ago, Felix probably would have been a trequartista – and a good one at that. Shorn of any defensive responsibilities and afforded the freedom to focus on creating and scoring goals, he would have no doubt excelled at the very highest level. But that No.10 role doesn't really exist anymore, at least not in its original form.
These days, attacking midfielders – and forwards in general – are required to work tirelessly to pressurise opponents, which, as we saw at Atletico, is hardly Felix's forte. He's not particularly aggressive or athletic. He's a slender and skilful support striker that is probably best utilised in a 4-4-2 – a formation that very few top teams employ in the modern era.
Milan are willing to, though, and that's why there is very cautious optimism that Felix's San Siro switch might actually work out well for everyone involved.
Getty Images SportConceicao key to Milan move
Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed that it took Milan just five minutes to decide to sign Felix when the loan deal was first proposed by the player's agent, Jorge Mendes. Sergio Conceicao was the main reason why. "The coach wanted him a lot," Ibrahimovic told reporters on Monday.
Conceicao was open and honest with Felix. He told him he couldn't make any promises over how much game time he would get. However, he did guarantee his compatriot that when he did play, it would always be in his preferred position just off the No.9.
"That’s what convinced me to come to Milan," Felix admitted at his official unveiling. "For now, I'm on loan until June. But let's see how it goes. At the moment, I’m really enjoying everything: the club, the people, the facilities.
"I’ve been welcomed very well. The most important thing is to be where I feel good, and I feel good here. Then, in football, things can change, but if there's a possibility to stay at Milan, I would like that."
