Manchester United have expressed interest in signing Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix in the summer transfer window, if Chelsea fail to seal a permanent deal for the Portugal international, according to Spanish outlet AS.
The Blues are said to be keen on bringing the 23-year-old to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. He moved to England in the January transfer window with Chelsea paying an £9.7m loan fee as well as agreeing to take on his wages.
The online news portal claims Man Utd are ready to make a move and are hopeful that the La Liga giants will be open to negotiating terms on a more favourable deal with them in the summer.
Atletico Madrid want a fee of around £88m, according to Relevo for his signature. Felix left the Wanda Metropolitano after reportedly falling out with manager Diego Simeone prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He was finding playing time hard to come by, hence the need to depart the club and join a team who was willing to play him, week in, week out. At Chelsea, he made a slow start after he was shown a red card on his Premier League debut against Fulham.
Since then, the versatile forward has produced impressive performances for the Blues – racking up nine appearances and scoring two goals in all competitions.
Quality signing
According to AS, Chelsea are still considering turning Felix’s loan deal permanent and this could open the door for Man United to lure the La Liga side into selling to them.
Erik ten Hag is keen on bolstering his forward line for next season and has identified the Portuguese as a potential target. Felix made three goal contributions for Portugal in five appearances at the World Cup as they exited the competition in the quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to Morocco.
His goal-scoring prowess is impressive for a young forward who came into the limelight few years ago, having scored 20 goals and provided 11 assists in 43 appearances for Benfica across all competitions before his switch to Spain.
At Atletico, he has netted 34 times and registered 18 assists in 131 appearances in all competitions as he helped them to win the 2020/21 La Liga title.
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