AC Milan were one of the most active sides of the 2025 January transfer window, making several moves on deadline day. The biggest movie was the Rossoneri agreeing to terms with Chelsea for the loan of Portuguese striker Joao Felix until the end of the current 2024-25 season. Felix, who signed for Chelsea permanently in the summer of 2024, is now ready to make another move in his career and will also join U.S. men's national team man Christian Pulisic in Milan. Will the role and the game time of Pulisic be affected by this signing? In short, it shouldn't.
AC Milan have decided to move forward and sign Felix on loan as the Rossoneri's manager Sergio Conceicao asked for another striker in addition to Santiago Gimenez, who moved from Feyenoord to the Italian club for around €35 million, while AC Milan decided to sell Alvaro Morata to Galatasaray in the same winter transfer window. Felix was once viewed as the next big thing in soccer, a potential Ballon d'Or candidate, but it has yet to even come close to materializing. Loads of potential, but the end product has not been there. After a 20-goal campaign for Benfica in 2018-19 as a teenage sensation, he has yet to score more than 10 goals in a single season since.
The signing of Felix, even if it will only be until June, for now, might help Conceicao and his tactical approach as he can also play more with two main strikers upfront, as he did when he was the manager at FC Porto. It's unlikely that the Rossoneri will immediately change their main tactical system as they are currently playing with the 4-2-3-1, but it can become an option during the games, as it also happened during the Derby della Madonnina played last Sunday against Inter.
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Pulisic, who has been the best player for AC Milan this season as he already scored 12 goals in all competitions, should not be too impacted by the signing of Felix, as it's unlikely to see the two playing in the same position. However, the Portuguese will give more options for rotations, and considering the number of games the Rossoneri will have to face, Felix can help the manager to rotate more during the games.
The former Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona man can play in multiple positions of the attack, especially as a striker, but also potentially as a left winger, where another Portuguese talent like Rafael Leao is the starter of the team. Conceicao already showed sometimes he was not happy with the behavior on the pitch of Leao, and it's likely that if it continues, Felix can become an option for that role as well. This is why if there is one player who can be impacted greatly from the signing of the Portuguese striker, it's more Leao than Pulisic.
AC Milan made some serious noise on deadline day. Only few believed the Rossoneri could make a signing like the one of Felix in the very last day of business, but RedBird advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic was very clear ahead of the game against Inter that something could happen in the last days of the window. Now it's time for the new players and manager Conceicao to deliver, even if the issues of the club won't be resolved right away.
