Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that Joao Felix "never complained" about his lack of minutes despite ultimately joining AC Milan on loan.
Felix returned to Stamford Bridge during the summer in a £46.3m deal, there being potential for the Portugal international to hold down a regular starting spot.
Despite scoring seven times in all competitions, Felix was restricted to just 364 minutes in the Premier League, making just three starts.
As a result, the 25-year-old has been allowed to link up with Milan on a loan deal for the remainder of the campaign without Chelsea acquiring a replacement.
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What did Maresca say on Felix?
With Felix having a seven-year contract at Chelsea, it remains plausible that the versatile attacker will return to Maresca's squad for 2025-26.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Maresca insisted that there has been no disagreements behind the scenes, instead praising the professionalism of the former Atletico Madrid man.
The Italian told reporters: "Nothing happened. As I said many times, players train every day and they want to play all the games.
"Unfortunately, there are just 11 playing all the games. We decide all together that it was a good option for him to leave.
"He never complained. He has always been good with us, professional. Just a matter of my opinion, decision, and the reason why is that I think we need defensive balance, and when you have too many attacking players, sometimes you can concede transition or ball, and I don't like that."
Felix has already made a successful debut for AC Milan and came off the substitutes' bench to score in the 3-1 victory over Roma in the Coppa Italia.
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Attacking options decreasing...
On the same day that Felix was completing a transfer to San Siro, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu each sustained injuries during the 2-1 win over West Ham United.
Maresca has since revealed that Guiu is in line for a period on the sidelines, while Jackson may not be fit for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Brighton & Hove Albion.
That effectively leaves Christopher Nkunku as most likely to start down the middle of the attack versus the Seagulls, with teenager Tyrique George promoted up the pecking order on the flank in the absence of Felix and provisionally-suspended Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Darren Plant
