TBR Football can exclusively confirm that Chelsea forward Joao Felix wants to do after his AC Milan loan ends in the summer.
Felix has swapped Stamford Bridge for the San Siro on a straight loan deal until the end of the season.
AC Milan have paid Chelsea a £5million loan fee for Felix, with no option or obligation to buy the Portugal international.
As things stand, Felix is set to return to Chelsea at the end of the season, but the 25-year-old – and Milan – have other plans.
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Joao Felix and AC Milan have long-term future together in mind
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Joao Felix has been told that the Italian giants fully intend on making his move permanent in the summer.
Felix had interest from a number of Premier League clubs including Aston Villa, whilst both Tottenham and Manchester United made enquiries.
However, Milan soon emerged as his preference and we are told that, although Felix is joining on an initial short-term loan until the summer, the Rossoneri already have their mind set on a long-term future with Felix.
During his conversations with Milan which included fellow countryman Sergio Conceicao – the new head coach – he was also won over by the club’s football advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has informed the club’s top brass that Felix could play a huge role in the club going forward.
We understand that the club’s hierarchy are very happy to have landed Felix, but they were unable to put together a permanent package this month as they had to complete their deal for Santi Gimenez from Feyenoord.
We are told that Felix only joined Milan knowing that there could be a long-term future for him at the San Siro.
How Felix has fared at Chelsea
Felix signed a seven-year contract when he moved to Chelsea on a £45million permanent deal in August.
He was previously on loan at Stamford Bridge during the second half of the 2022-23 season.
However, Felix has struggled for game time under Enzo Maresca this season, getting 947 minutes under his belt from 20 outings.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes |
| Premier League | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 363′ |
| Conference League | 5 | 4 | – | – | – | 328′ |
| EFL Cup | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 166′ |
| FA Cup | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | 90′ |
| Total | 20 | 7 | 2 | 4 | – | 947′ |
Felix has only started three Premier League games all season, though he featured regularly in the cups, and has seven goals and two assists to his name.