Arsenal Enter Race For La Liga Star – Report

Arsenal are reportedly in the race for Joao Felix…

Arsenal have entered the race to sign Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix as Mikel Arteta looks to make plans for Gabriel Jesus’ period on the sidelines, AS reports.

Felix has just exited the World Cup after Portugal’s shock defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals and is said to be considering leaving the La Liga giants in the January window.

The former Benfica prodigy joined Diego Simeone’s side for an eye-watering €124 million in 2019, but it hasn’t worked out as the parties hoped.

Felix isn’t the quintessential ‘Simeone player’, with the 23-year-old clever in possession and operating in tight spaces for a team that’s more adventerous.

The report claims that Felix’s agent Jorge Mendes is already in the process of finding his client a new club with the likes of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain potential suitors.

Bayern Munich have reportedly withdrawn from the race given the numbers involved, but AS claims that Arsenal have entered the race ‘with force’.

Arteta has hinted that the club may delve into the January market for a striker following Jesus’ knee injury which is likely to sideline the Brazilian for three months.

However, panicking in the market is no longer part of the recruitment team’s practices and any addition will need to be seen as a long-term option.

Felix is talented, but I can’t see the club interested at the numbers currently being discussed with Atletico determined to recoup the transfer they paid for him.

Having said that, if the Spanish side were open to a loan until the end of the season whereby the situation was reassessed next summer, one could see us make a move.

Mendes and Edu have struck up a solid relationship in recent months and that could end in another arrival for the club.