Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Bailey Keogh

Edu handed Arsenal Joao Felix greenlight for bargain £8m deal amid Gabriel Jesus problem

Arsenal have recently been linked with Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix as they look to bolster their attacking options. Felix moved to the Madrid club in 2019 for over £100m but has struggled to settle since his mega-money switch.

The Gunners finished the summer transfer window with just Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as the forward options going into the season. However, Arsenal’s frontline is now under major scrutiny going into the January window amid a serious knee injury suffered to Jesus during the World Cup.

Since the Brazilian’s injury Arsenal have been linked with a number of forwards going into the winter transfer window. But, it seems that Felix could be the main target on Edu’s radar.

READ MORE: Edu has four January transfer targets to solve key Arsenal dilemma amid Reiss Nelson injury

According to British journalist Duncan Castles, Atletico Madrid are prepared to let Felix join an English Premier League club on loan next month. The La Liga club are reportedly asking for an £8million loan fee, plus the player’s salary to be paid in full, while there would be no contractual option to buy.

Felix comes from the Benfica academy which has had a lot of success in the past in terms of their player development, which Manchester City has benefited from. Mikel Arteta has an excellent chance to follow in Pep Guardiola's footsteps by doing the same with the signing of Felix, whose stardom was once compared to Kylian Mbappe.

The forward was highly touted by Europe’s biggest clubs after his amazing Europa League run with Benfica during the 2018/2019 season. It was Atletico Madrid who signed him later in that summer for a blockbuster £114m transfer, as the youngster was tipped to become one of the world’s best players.

Despite Gabriel Jesus’ arrival, Edu still needs to add more firepower to Arteta’s options in the upcoming transfer windows. Eddie Nketiah and Jesus will need more goal support from different sources in the team. Felix has tons of European experience having made 34 appearances in Europe League and scoring 10 goals in the process, showing that he would be a good alternative option from a goalscoring perspective for the Gunners.

Felix would certainly be a good signing for the Gunners. But, competition for his signature would certainly be fruitful meaning Arsenal would have put themselves in the best negotiation position to be able to complete a deal.

READ NEXT:

Edu can save Arsenal millions and hand Mikel Arteta the perfect squad with three free transfers

Arsenal face triple suspension risk with William Saliba set for new role in West Ham clash

The three things that must happen when Arsenal face West Ham in Premier League return

Arsenal make Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer call after worrying Reiss Nelson injury update

Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: The latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.