Manchester United has outstripped another Premier League club Arsenal in the race of signing Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix. Spanish Outlet Diario AS reported that, Red Devils are leading this race. Arsenal’s boss Mikel Arteta also loves the Portuguese player and wants him at Emirates. However, Felix wants a move to Old Trafford. He thinks Erik Ten Hag playing style is what he needed.
Felix wants a United move than Arsenal
Spanish media also reported that there are a number of clubs interested to hire Felix in the January transfer window. Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, PSG, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Juventus, and now Chelsea is also jumped, into the race to sign the La Liga Forward. Spanish media is claiming that Red Devils are leading this race. However, English media is claiming that Arsenal and Chelsea have a stronger side than that of United. Diario AS are very confident that Felix wants to play under Ten Hag but Atletico wants a good amount for this deal.
Atletico Madrid wants to offload the Portuguese Forward
Felix joined the La Liga side from Benfica in the 2019 summer transfer. Atletico paid a lofty amount of €126M for him. But his inconsistent form has disappointed Atletico’s management and now they want to offload him in this January. Miguel Angel Gil Marin, CEO of Atletico de Madrid admitted that the relationship between Simeone and Felix has already broken and now they are considering a permanent transfer of the Player. Marin stated via TVE;
“Joao is the biggest bet this club has taken in its history. I personally think he’s a top talent, a world class player. For reasons it isn’t worth getting into – the relationship between him and the boss [Simeone], the minutes played, his motivation right now – it makes you think that the reasonable thing is that if there’s an option that’s good for the player, good for the club, we can look at it. I’d love him to stay personally, but I don’t think that’s the player’s idea.”
Now, the former La Liga Champions Atletico want at least €100M-€110M for the player. Felix is a versatile player and can play as a winger, centre-forward, attacking midfielder, and also as a false nine. Villareal’s former Manager Unai Emery described him as “very dangerous” player because of his attacking attribute and versatility.
Experts say the amount which Atletico want is ‘problematic‘ & ‘unrealistic‘. United has already spent a lot of in the last summer transfer while the Gunners cannot spend this heavy price tag in the middle of the season. Chelsea seems more positioned in getting this transfer in their favor because they can pay the amount to grab this deal.
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