The Portuguese’s game time at Stamford Bridge was largely limited to the UEFA Europa Conference League and the domestic cups, although he has made a fast start to life with the Rossoneri with a debut goal against AS Roma in the Coppa Italia last week.

Sergio Conceicao has been initially impressed with the player’s attitude and form for the club, while Enzo Maresca bullishly responded to Felix’s early impression at San Siro by claiming that the Blues ‘don’t miss’ him.

In spite of the former Atletico Madrid star’s loan being in its early days, a permanent swoop to the Serie A has already been mooted for Felix.

According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato (h/t 90min), AC Milan are set to offer Chelsea the chance to sign Rafael Leao in a swap deal including Joao Felix as well.

Leao has been a hot property in recent years as he has established himself as one of Europe’s most exciting wingers having also been on the Premier League side’s radar since nearly a year ago.

Enzo Maresca’s rather arrogant response to the media’s recent question to Joao Felix perhaps hints that the Chelsea manager is planning for the future without the winger in his mind. With that said, permanently parting company in the summer would work best for both, Chelsea and Felix, as the Blues look set to back Maresca for the longer term.

Chelsea paid £42 million in fixed fees to sign him from Atletico Madrid last year and will look to recover as much of their investment on the forward as possible from Milan. Rafael Leao’s inclusion in a potential swap deal would act as a massive sweetener, especially given that he has a lucrative £145 million release in his contract and is an absolutely fantastic winger.

The Blues are expected to consider acquiring a winger in the summer and Leao fits everything they are looking for.

The 25-year-old has the best years of his career ahead and contributes directly in the final third very consistently. As part of a deal involving Felix and Leao, Chelsea may still need to pay some cash although they may very possibly be open to doing so.

It will be interesting to see what the financial implications on the Londoners would be for such a deal to go through.