AC Milan have expressed an interest in signing Chelsea forward Joao Felix, according to reports in Italy.

Felix, who spent the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Stamford Bridge, joined permanently during the summer for a fee of £46.3m as part of the deal which took Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid.

Since returning to Chelsea, however, Felix has been forced to settle for a peripheral role in Enzo Maresca’s team. He has started just three times in the Premier League under the Italian and has instead been handed a more prominent role in cup competitions.

The Portuguese’s situation has reportedly caught the eye of AC Milan and Gianluca Di Marzio states the Italian giants have reached out to Chelsea to explore a possible deal.

Milan are keen to bolster in attack and have been chasing Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, but progress in negotiations has been slow and so the Serie A giants have begun to explore their options.

Chelsea have made it clear to Milan that they are not interested in entertaining a loan exit for Felix, whose contract runs until 2030 and also includes a one-year extension clause.

Felix is not the only summer signing to be linked with a move away from Chelsea. Brighton & Hove Albion are keen on centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, while £30m midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is available after seeing just 55 minutes of Premier League action so far this season.

Meanwhile, Axel Disasi continues to be admired from across Europe, and forward Christopher Nkunku is a target for Bayern Munich.