Chelsea outcast ‘is being pushed to AC Milan’ amid Aston Villa interest – as agent Jorge Mendes ‘flies to London to convince Blues’ over loan deal

Joao Felix‘s agent Jorge Mendes is reportedly pushing the Chelsea outcast to sign with AC Milan ahead of the January transfer deadline.

Mendes has flown to London for talks with the west London club in an effort to convince them over a loan deal to Milan until the end of the season, although the Serie A side are understood to be unwilling to pay the star’s entire salary during that period.

In addition, Milan reportedly have no interest in paying a fee for the potential six-month loan deal.

Given that Chelsea are eager not to let Felix leave for nothing, Mendes has jetted to the English capital to try and find a comprise between to two clubs, according Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport.

As a result, Milan are believed to be leading the race to sign the out-of-favour Portuguese forward, who has attracted interest from several clubs including Aston Villa this month.

The Midlands club’s interest in Felix appears to have dwindled following Marcus Rashford’s shock loan move to Villa Park on Sunday, with the Manchester United exile set to provide cover in attack after Jhon Duran completed his £65million move to Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr last week.

Mendes (above) has reportedly flown to London in an effort to convince the west London club

Former Atletico Madrid star Felix, left with Mykhaylo Mudryk (centre) and Raheem Sterling (right), has struggled for game time since his move to Stamford Bridge last summer

Rashford could be thrown straight in against Tottenham on Sunday after Villa’s star striker Ollie Watkins was withdrawn through injury against Wolves. 

Milan are planning to make room for Felix by offloading Noah Okafor ahead of the January transfer deadline.

Okafor is no longer part of Sergio Conceicao’s plans at the San Siro, with the Swiss star appearing just 11 times in the league so far this campaign.