Joao Felix's fight for relevance: Chelsea outcast must make AC Milan his permanent home or risk never realising his potential

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.

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 The Players' Tribune. "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.

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.

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."

Felix certainly couldn't have made a much better start to his bid to convince Milan he's worth signing on a permanent basis, with the 25-year-old marking his debut with a wonderful dinked finish just 13 minutes after coming off the bench in last week's Coppa Italia win over Roma.

He was also constantly involved during his first Serie A start on Saturday, against Empoli, and, going into Wednesday's Champions League play-off first leg against Feyenoord, there is a huge amount of excitement surrounding a revamped Rossoneri attack featuring Felix playing behind the other big January arrival, Santiago Gimenez, with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic providing the width and penetration out wide.

The Corriere dello Sport is already claiming that Felix could have a transformative effect on a team that has struggled for consistency this season, reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League but currently sitting seventh in Serie A, and there have already been comparisons with Kaka, the former Brazil international that he idolised as a kid.

Of course, we've been here before with Felix, who has impressed at various intervals over the years for club and country but never performed with the consistency required of a truly top player. So, nobody at Milan should be getting too carried away just yet, and also don't yet know if the club would even be in a position to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season. Right now, a loan extension appears the more likely outcome.

However, what happens next depends on Felix. He really does appear to be happy at Milan. He seems to have slotted seamlessly into his new surroundings, with Conceicao and international team-mate Leao undoubtedly playing pivotal roles in that regard.

However, actions speak louder than words when it comes to Felix, who has always talked a great game. He said Atletico offered him "the best conditions to progress" his career, joining Barcelona was meant to be a "dream come true", while he claimed Chelsea was "a perfect place to shine".

His comments on Milan, then, should probably be taken with a pinch of salt, but the mere fact that he's likely to receive regular minutes in his favourite role means this is probably the best chance he's ever going to get to belatedly realise his potential.

He says he wants to "make history" at Milan, but his primary objective should simply be settling at San Siro. After six years of searching, Felix needs to finally find a home.