Sources: Chelsea plan for Joao Felix clarified after Tottenham helped seal AC Milan loan

Chelsea star Joao Felix joined AC Milan on loan on deadline day and there is a realistic chance he has played his last game in a Blues shirt, TEAMtalk understands.

It was always going to be a case that one, not both, of Felix and Christopher Nkunku would leave Chelsea and it was ultimately the Portuguese forward who got the move.

Nkunku was heavily linked with Manchester United and Bayern Munich throughout the January window but the Blues were only considering selling him if his valuation was met. An added complication was that Nkunku didn’t want to exit on loan.

Man Utd and Bayern ultimately weren’t willing to match Nkunku’s £60m+ price tag and that meant it was Felix which joined AC Milan on a straight loan deal.

A number of sides showed interest in Felix, including Aston Villa, with Unai Emery understood to be a big admirer of the 25-year-old. Villa chose to pursue Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan instead.

Villa’s preference would have been to sign Felix permanently, but Chelsea selling the Portguese playmaker would have likely resulted in a book loss after paying around £45m for him last summer.

A loan move to Milan gives Felix the chance to gain minutes and raise his value. He is under contract at Chelsea until 2031, so Chelsea are unlikely to consider a cut-price sale this summer.

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How Tottenham, Mathys Tel move helped Milan get Joao Felix

Milan have paid a £5m fee to sign Felix on loan and will also cover all wages until the end of the season, which according to Capology are £65k-per-week.

Chelsea therefore recoup funds immediately from the deal and if all goes well for Felix in Italy, could be able to make a profit on him next summer or beyond.

TEAMtalk understands the loan move was driven by Milan manager Sergio Conceicao, before Felix’s agent, Jorge Mendes, flew to Italy in the final days of the window in order to finalise the deal.

It required some movement from Milan to make space in the squad and their wage bill and that is why they chose to loan winger Noah Okafor to Napoli.

It was an interesting situation that had ramifications for different clubs. Tottenham had shown interest in Okafor earlier in the window, before they won the race for Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on deadline day. Spurs turning to Tel allowed Napoli to move for him Okafor, which freed up the space for Milan to loan Felix.

Felix looks set to be a key player for Milan as they try and bounce back from a disappointing start to the Serie A campaign, which sees them currently eighth in Serie A. Milan also face an important Champions League playoff against Feyenoord to try and reach the last sixteen.

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IN FOCUS: Joao Felix, stats for Chelsea this season