Watch: Ornstein analyses chances of Joao Felix to Arsenal or Man Utd

Joao Felix could be on the move in January and David Ornstein has explained where his next destination is likely to be as Arsenal and Manchester United are interested.

The Portuguese forward has featured in the majority of Atletico Madrid’s matches this season, although plenty of his appearances have come from the bench.

Across all competitions this season he has scored five goals and provided three assists. During the World Cup he also produced three goal contributions for Portugal.

The 23-year-old is clearly a very talented player, although there is still the feeling that Atletico Madrid are yet to unlock his full potential. Especially considering they spent a club-record £113million to land him.

“He’s available for transfer via Atletico Madrid and by that we think a loan,” explained The Athletic’s football correspondent Ornstein.

“Because he signed for them for such an expense and there’s still a long time left on his contract that nobody is going to pay the sort of transfer fee that Atletico Madrid would want for a permanent deal, although never say never.

“It is a loan which is being offered by Atletico via Jorge Mendes his agent. The interest is being garnered and the most interested parties so far unsurprisingly come from the Premier League.

“I heard early on actually, while we were at the World Cup, PSG may be in the mix as well. The more people you speak to it becomes quite clear that although many clubs would be interested in a player of this quality, as things stand it’s Arsenal and Manchester United who are showing the most interest.”

Arsenal’s interest comes as no surprise as they are after a short-term solution to fill the void that has been left by the injured Gabriel Jesus. Eddie Nketiah has done a fine job so far, but they are still in need of another forward.

Likewise, Man United are keen on bolstering their attacking line after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Given their new fluid system, a player like Felix could be a hit at Old Trafford.

Ornstein continues: “The problem is the finances involved because he is worth so much on the books of Atletico Madrid that they are going to look to recoup a heavy amount of that.

“They want a €15million loan fee, plus his salary for six months which is thought to be €6million gross. So a €21million package as things stand.

“The likes of Manchester United and Arsenal are believed to be willing to pay less than half of that as things stand from the total package. That means there’s a chasm and that will need to be breached if he is going to be joining one of those clubs.

“That means Atletico Madrid will need to come down or his suitors are going to have to come up. Maybe they would come up a little bit, but Atletico would have to come down significantly.

“I’ve got a feeling that Jorge Mendes is going to try and work his magic, the month is only just getting started, there’s a long way to go and it’s a deal I could see happening.”

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