"It's a chance for me to find a home," were the words of Joao Felix when he signed for Chelsea on a permanent deal almost six months ago. "After two loans, Chelsea and Barca, I needed to stay permanently in one place."

Five months and two weeks on (just 167 days), there is yet another loan move for the Portugal international. This time to AC Milan, who have signed Felix until the end of the season and have paid Chelsea £4.5million for his services, football.london understands, while the Rossoneri will cover his full wages.

Felix wanted to find his home - and his message could not have been any clearer. So, why hasn't it worked?

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Two words: Cole Palmer. It seems unfair to almost blame this on Palmer but it is not his fault he is so good. Or maybe it is. Anyway, the 22-year-old's brilliance has made it virtually impossible for Felix to get much of a sniff in the Premier League.

Palmer has struck 14 times in the top-flight this season; a figure that equates to almost 30% of Chelsea's total goals in the competition. The former Manchester City man has been used in the No.10 role for the most part, with Enzo Maresca giving the Blues' No.20 permission to free-roam and express himself in between the lines.

This spelt bad news for Felix, who was used just 12 times in the Premier League since returning to Stamford Bridge in August. Only three of them were from the start and he registered 363 minutes in total in the top-flight. The Portuguese was not allowed as much time on the pitch as he would have liked to prove himself at the elite level — with five of his cameos from the bench totalling in less than 10 minutes of action.

"The only thing I've said since the start of this season is that it is difficult to play him with so many attacking players," Maresca explained when asked about Felix last month. "In my idea it means that if Joao plays, it means Cole doesn't play. Or, if Joao plays he has to play with Cole together, but it depends on the game.

"For me, it's quite easy; we have three players but they are more or less similar with Cole, Joao and Christopher Nkunku. Joao played some games, Christo also played and they both started against Ipswich and Southampton they played, Leicester they played. Some games they can both play together, but not ever game because every game is a bit different."

It begs the question: did Chelsea need to sign Felix in the first place? The Blues paid £45million to Atletico Madrid last summer but with Conor Gallagher moving in the opposite direction, it was a transfer that helped with the west Londoners' PSR position. Felix's less-than-six-month period at Chelsea has since suggested he was not required at Stamford Bridge; particularly when Christopher Nkunku also played in a similar position.

Felix is a player of technical brilliance; someone that can light up a game with a dribble of the ball, or an intelligent pass, but his level of inconsistency - not helped by his lack of regular minutes - means he has not been a success in SW6 in either of his spells.

This spell is not over, granted, with Milan not having the option to buy the Portuguese attacker once his loan deal has expired. But it does seem a very long road for Felix to travel to make it a successful one at Chelsea.