Atletico Madrid are demanding a £9.5million loan fee and a commitment to buy at £70.5m from Manchester United as negotiations of Joao Felix hot up.
The attacker is free to leave the Wanda Metropolitano, having fallen out of boss Diego Simeone's plans. The Portugal international has failed to deliver consistent performances since his club record move from Benfica four years ago.
United are currently one of the frontrunners to sign him, with boss Erik ten Hag keen to boost his attacking options. The Dutchman ripped up the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo in November, leaving him looking light on attackers.
And they have stepped up their pursuit with agent Jorge Mendes meeting with Atleti’s CEO Miguel Angel Gil on Thursday to present United’s opening offer of a straight loan a £3m and a commitment to cover the player’s wages.
But the LaLiga giants have rebuffed that offer and want an answer from United by the middle of this week over whether they will match their valuation. United are understood to have first option on Felix and will be given 48 hours to match any offer presented by another club.
Arsenal also retain an interest in the Portuguese and were keen to sign him in the summer. Atletico believe Mendes will hold further talks with the Gunners tomorrow to see whether or not they will firm up their initial position.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Manchester United agree to Atletico Madrid's demands for Joao Felix? Comment below.
The news that Atletico have rejected United's opening offer for Felix comes after former star Patrice Evra urged them to end their pursuit of Felix. He warned that the 23-year-old is not the type of player Ten Hag's squad needs to sign this month.
“I love Joao Felix and I loved what a great World Cup he had. I’m quite surprised that things haven’t worked out with Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid, but he’s a fantastic player," Evra told Betfair.
“He’s an excellent player and if he’s not happy at Atletico, the Premier League will welcome him with open arms. We need to replace the 20 goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, so it’s logical that we need another attacker.
"We can play Martial, Garnacho and Rashford but we need a killer, someone who lives for goals. I don’t care if they perform well, I just want them to score goals. That’s why I don’t think Joao Felix is the right type of player for United right now.
“I don’t want United to look beautiful. With players like Felix people will say how beautiful we look with the way we play, I don’t care about that. Right now they need to bring someone in who is coming just to score goals.”
Felix scored in Atletico's last outing in LaLiga, with his strike helping to secure a win over Elche just over a week ago. He was left out of the Copa del Rey win over Real Oviedo on Wednesday though and it is unknown if Simeone will select him against Barcelona on Monday.
