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Manchester United’s hunt for a striker ahead of next season is well-known but amid a club takeover and with so many targets, it remains to be seen who actually arrives at Old Trafford.
The favourites at the moment seem to be Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer Harry Kane and Serie A leading scorer Victor Osimhen of Napoli.
But the amounts being mentioned and the fact that both clubs are known to be very hard negotiators means the Red Devils have kept standby options ready.
United to offer Joao Felix escape route out of Chelsea
One of them is current Chelsea loan star Joao Felix. The Portuguese has not set the Premier League alight since his move in January with two goals in 14 games across all competitions.
The breakdown in relationship between the forward and the Diego Simeone, the manager of his parent club Atletico Madrid has been well-documented.
Ideally, he would prefer finding a new club at the earliest but according to FourFourTwo, “Chelsea are said to have reservations about Atletico’s £88m valuation of the Portuguese international.”
And that could allow United to pounce. The Reds were close to agreeing terms with the Portugal international back in January only to withdraw after hearing the loan fee being mentioned.
The London side have not completely exited the race as The Daily Mail have claimed that they could offer to bring him back to Stamford Bridge on loan next season.
No permanent move means ETH could come back for him
The report also mentioned that “Ten Hag is thought to be an admirer of the versatile attacker” and if United fail to bring their top targets to The Theatre of Dreams, a move for Felix could be the next best option.
Felix was one of the hottest properties in Europe during his Benfica days, before Atletico made him the fourth-most expensive player of all time when he joined for £113m four years ago.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed his moments for the La Liga giants but has failed to live up to his initial hype.
United could offer him the perfect escape route, and he would thrive in the fast-paced United attack but as of now, all signs point towards Ten Hag wanting a No 9 and not a versatile forward.
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