Journalist Charles Watts has given his verdict amid Arsenal’s reported transfer links to Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix.
Noted journalist Duncan Castles has reported that the Gunners are in a ‘more advanced’ position for the player than some of his other suitors. In addition, it has been suggested that Atletico are open to the idea of loaning the 23-year-old star out.
Felix moved to the Spanish capital for a fee of £113m from Benfica, but it appears his time may be coming to an end.
However, speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts said that ‘no official contact’ has been made between the two clubs.
He said: “As far as I’m aware, there’s been no official contact with Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. Our guy over in Spain, Ruben [Uria], who I’m sure you’re probably aware of, who works Goal over in Spain is very connected over at Atletico.
“He’s on the ball when it comes to Joao Felix, and at the moment, he doesn’t think there’s been anything official in terms of Arsenal going over there, but there’s lots of talk about a potential loan deal.”
TIF Thoughts on Watts’ comments…
As far as Arsenal are concerned, we think a loan would be more of a logical move than a full purchase due to the fact that Felix hasn’t lived up to his price tag with the La Liga side and you would imagine Diego Simeone would be against selling him on the cheap.
The 23-year-old only has 33 goals in 129 appearances for Atletico, with three of those goals coming in the current La Liga campaign.
Taking Felix on loan would allow Mikel Arteta to see if the player is the right fit for the club, and with Gabriel Jesus out injured, he could fill the void for the time being until his return.
You’d expect that if a club were to offer a fee for Felix, Atletico would demand a huge sum so that they don’t make too much of a loss on the initial price they paid for him.
For now, though, this just seems like one to keep an eye on rather than get too excited about.