Unsettled Chelsea and Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko may make a spectacular return to Serie A giants AC Milan in January, according to reports in the British press.
The 2004 European Footballer of the Year has struggled to adapt to English soccer since joining the London club in the summer, scoring just three league goals so far.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is willing to loan him out in the hope he can rediscover his scoring touch at Milan, tabloid daily The Sun reported Wednesday.
If the deal goes through, Milan will pay Shevchenko's hefty salary for the rest of the season.
Soccer pundits believe Mourinho never really wanted the Ukraine star, who cost 43 million euros.
They say the player's arrival was imposed on him by the club's Russian billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich.
The 30-year-old's poor form has been put down to the fact that he and his family are missing Milan.
The feeling seems to be mutual.
His former club are lying a lowly 15th in Serie A and strikers Filippo Inzaghi, Alberto Gilardino and Ricardo Oliveira have mustered just three league goals between them so far.
Shevchenko became Milan's all-time second-highest scorer in his seven years at the San Siro Stadium.
His 173 goals helped the team win the Italian championship, the Italian Cup, the European Champions League and the European Super Cup.
Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani desperately tried to persuade him to stay.
But the star's American model wife Kristen Pazik reportedly wanted their children to grow up in an English-speaking environment. Pazik is said to have given her blessing to a return to Italy now though, after finding it more difficult to settle in London than expected.
The Sun reported that Chelsea is only interested in letting Shevchenko go on loan and will not sell him back to Milan.
This is because Abramovich is believed to have great faith that the striker will regain his best form soon.
Able to score goals with both feet and his head, from spotkicks or from lightning attacks, when on-song Shevchenko is considered one of the most complete strikers in contemporary soccer.
Some commentators, however, feel he has lost some of the speed that made him so lethal and is past his prime as a result.
