Atletico Madrid will reportedly prioritise selling players in the January transfer window with Joao Felix expected to depart the club, with Arsenal and Tottenham both recently being linked with the Portuguese international.
According to Marca, the La Liga side are keen to overhaul most of their squad in January by offloading players who are no longer required in the long-term, with Felix expected to join the likes of Rodrigo De Paul, Mario Hermoso, Thomas Lemar, Matheus Cunha and Yannick Carrasco.
As per the report, Diego Simeone is eager to both change the personnel of the squad as well as balance Atletico’s books, with the Colchoneros in serious financial trouble and in desperate need of raising some capital via the transfer window, which is why so many big-name players are now up for sale.
Interest is far from short in Atletico’s cast of outcasts, though, with GiveMeSport recently claiming that Arsenal are interested in Felix, whilst according to TuttoMercatoWeb, Tottenham are also giving chase for the Portuguese superstar, who could win a move based off his performances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Felix scored in Portugal’s 3-2 win against Ghana before impressing again in the group stages against Uruguay. And performances like this on football’s biggest stage could inspire clubs to take the 23-year-old off Atletico’s hands, with the Spanish side desperate to offload the attacker.
Signed in 2019 for a reported £113m, Felix’s time in Madrid could go down as a failure given how much hype was surrounding the youngster following his departure from Benfica. And following this latest update, Atletico could soon allow the forward to leave on the cheap amid Arsenal and Tottenham interest.
Atletico selling Felix could be the biggest deal of the January window
It feels crazy to think that Felix is still on 23-years-old, with the Portuguese superstar breaking out at Benfica at a young age and seemingly stalling at Atletico since joining the club over three years ago. And the attacker leaving Madrid in January could be the biggest deal of the entire window.
After all, Felix was once regarded by many as a future Ballon d’Or winner, and the youngster’s next move could go on to define his entire career, with interest in the Atletico outcast set to increase after the World Cup in Qatar.
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