Chelsea forward Joao Felix joins AC Milan on loan until end of season

Chelsea forward Joao Felix has completed a loan move to AC Milan until the end of the season.

The Italian side have paid a £5m loan fee for Felix, with no obligation to buy the 25-year-old Portugal international in the summer.

Though the deal was only announced on Tuesday, the required paperwork was submitted in advance of Monday's Serie A and Premier League transfer deadline.

Felix signed a seven-year contract when he moved to Chelsea on a £45m permanent deal in August, having had a loan spell at Stamford Bridge during the second half of the 2022-23 season.

He has only started three Premier League matches this campaign, though regularly featured in cup competitions, scoring seven goals.

The forward began his career at Benfica and moved for £113m to Atletico Madrid in July 2019, a deal which at the time was the fifth-most expensive transfer in history.

He spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Barcelona before his move back to Stamford Bridge last summer.

Milan, eighth in Serie A, play Roma in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday and have a two-legged play-off against Feyenoord in the Champions League this month.