Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has labelled Joao Felix as a ‘super talent’ amid links with Arsenal. The Portuguese playmaker has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium since the January transfer window.
It was reported that the Atletico Madrid star was under consideration in north London, with the club considering their options in attack. Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are both out of contract at the end of the current season, leaving a potential vacancy in the Arsenal forward line.
Whilst a deal for Felix would be pricey - the former Benfica man having been purchased by his current employers for £113m - it is clear that Ferdinand is a big fan of his talents having watched him at close quarters in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The Portuguese started against Manchester United in the second-leg of their round of 16 tie.
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Speaking to BT Sport after the full-time whistle, Ferdinand was full of praise for the Arsenal target.
He said: “That fella there in the picture, Joao Felix. Super talent. Some of the touches he produced in the game were tremendous.”
Whilst Felix was not able to get on the scoresheet himself unlike in the first leg of the tie at the Wanda Metropolitano, he still managed to play the full 90 minutes as Diego Simeone’s men sealed a 1-0 victory. The only goal of the game came just before half-time courtesy of full-back Renan Lodi.
Felix is still in the midst of an impressive season in Madrid though having scored eight goals and provided five assists in all competitions so far this season having been deployed in a wide variety of positions. He is certainly in excellent form in La Liga having netted four goals in as many games.
It of course remains to be seen whether Atleti would be willing to let him go amid Arsenal’s interest. The 22-year-old still has just over four years left to run on his current contract in Spain.
Previous reports have suggested that he has a €350m (£294m) release clause slotted into that deal.
