Five clubs are in the hunt to sign Portugal’s Joao Felix, as he plots his exit from Atletico Madrid.
As reported in sport.es, Arsenal have now joined the race to take the want-away forward out of La Liga.
The Premier League club look the likeliest destination for the 23-year-old, with three other English clubs circling for his signature.
Manchester United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa are also in the race along with Paris Saint-Germain with all of them set to battle it out to land the young star, who impressed at the World Cup for Portugal.
Felix has struggled to break into Diogo Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side this season and hasn’t ever fully gained the trust of the pragmatic Argentine manager.
Bought by Atletico for a whopping £113 million from Benfica, it was felt that Simeone would find a place for the flamboyant forward in his well-drilled side.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way with Simeone reverting to type and predominantly sticking with his battering ram-type strikers, leaving Felix short of game time.
However, when called upon, the Portuguese star has shown flickers of his obvious talent.
United, in particular, have first-hand experience of the forward’s ability. Felix was instrumental in knocking the Red Devils out of the Champions League last season.
A bullet header in the first leg in Spain gave Atletico the lead on the night, a lead which United responded to, to take the tie back to Old Trafford.
The second leg saw Atleti grind out another 1-0 win, in typical Simeone fashion with Felix the outstanding performer on the night.
His close control, change of pace and ability to take on defenders proved too much for United as they exited the competition at the Round-of-16 stage.
The forward possesses all the attributes to fit into Erik ten Hag’s system, a fluid attacker who can operate across the front line.
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit confirmed, United are publicly in the market for a replacement and Felix represents the perfect option. It is believed Atleti will demand a similar fee they paid for the player, in a bid to recoup their initial hefty outlay.
