Joao Felix sends Chelsea a message with STUNNING AC Milan debut

Joao Felix's AC Milan debut went about as perfectly as he could have imagined.

Joao Felix came off the bench to score the third goal during AC Milan's 3-1 Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Roma on Wednesday night and send a big message to parent club Chelsea.

That message? "I can still do it against the best."

With 30 minutes to go, Joao Felix came onto the San Siro pitch and his impact was devastating. Put through on goal by fellow sub Santiago Gimenez, the Portuguese wonder took a second to compose himself before delicately chipping the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.

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3-1 and the game was probably done and dusted. What a tremendous impact for a player who only signed for the club this week and was making his debut.

A spectacular effort which highlights both why this was a tremendous move for Felix to make and why he was never going to do the same as Chelsea.

New Milan manager Sergio Conceicao likes to play 4-4-2, and this is a formation which suits Joao Felix's skill-set superbly. The Portuguese is an old-school no. 10 who likes to float across the pitch in the half-space behind the striker, not doing too much defensively (saving their energy for attack instead of tracking back).

The Last of the true no. 10's

True no. 10's are rare if not extinct in modern football, which explains Joao Felix having such a hard time making a name for himself despite his staggering talent. Most teams have tried forcing him into a roaming left-wing role, but that only works with a flank dominating left-back so that Felix can just abandon the side of the pitch, leaving it to the left-back, and play as a 10.

Fortunately for him AC Milan have such a left-back in Theo Hernandez. So should Conceicao persist with 4-3-3 then this is one of the few clubs where Felix can make it work as a winger. But if the coach makes the switch to 4-4-2, as he is expected to do, then you will likely see Joao Felix take off as a footballing force.

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Surrounded by Rafael Leao, Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic. Felix will be the one running the show. The classic no. 10. That's not only his natural position but also a role Chelsea fans will know all too well as "where Cole Palmer plays" - handily explaining why Joao Felix never really got a chance to strut his stuff at Stamford Bridge.

This loan at AC Milan should do Joao Felix's reputation the world of good and the lack of a buy clause means you can expect Chelsea to try and start a bidding war for Felix's services when the season is done in order to recoup as much of that massive transfer fee as possible.