Manchester United could have a chance at a simple transfer for Joao Felix, as “tensions” with Diego Simeone mean he is “open” to a move.
Felix has been on United’s radar for some time. While he has been linked with other clubs, the Red Devils have dominated headlines regarding a move for the Portuguese.
That has been the case for many months, and that is has never died down shows the level of interest.
Of late, a move away for Felix has looked more and more likely. Indeed, the fact he has started just five league games so far this season shows how out of favour he is.
That is clearly strange, given Atletico paid £113million for him in 2019.
However, it is apparently due to tensions between the striker and Atletico manager Simeone that he has hardly gotten onto the pitch.
That is reinforced by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who claims a move could be coming as a result.
“Joao Felix is a special talent, but we know his situation with Atletico Madrid has not been easy,” he told Caught Offside.
Felix open to move amid tensions
According to Romano, Felix is ready to make a move away from the La Liga outfit.
“He’s had a good relationship with the club and the fans, but there are tensions with Diego Simeone. This is why he’s now open to leaving Atletico Madrid in 2023 – we’ll see if it’s in January or in the summer,” he said.
“It’s not true that Felix has asked to leave, but he’s open to a move. Atletico Madrid invested a lot of money in the young forward, so the board still want to protect the player and see if he can make it at the club.”
That Felix is ready to move on could play into the hands of United. With Cristiano Ronaldo having left, they are in the market for a quality attacker.
That is something the Portuguese clearly is, given he has been directly involved in 51 goals in 129 games at Atletico.
“It also means the next club will have to make an important offer to persuade them to sell Felix,” Romano added.
United have freed up a lot of funds that were tied up in Ronaldo’s contract. As such, they should be able to offer Atletico a good sum for Felix.
Given they have just lost a striker, they might well want that situation resolved come January.
However, that will likely be contested by Paris Saint-Germain. They are the other side that has been strongly linked with Felix of late.
It would be little surprise if they were to come in with a big offer for the 23-year-old. Whatever happens, the situation may come to an end in January.
