Report: Positive talks continue between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid over Joao Felix loan deal
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth was on the Transfer Talk podcast and provided an update on Arsenal’s interest in Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix and revealed that the Gunners are “enjoying positive talks” with the La Liga side over a possible loan signing for the 23-year-old attacker.
Sheth said: “Arsenal are in the market to bring in both Mudryk and Joao Felix. I think they probably see this transfer window as probably a unique opportunity, one that they didn’t think they’d have. They’re top of the league. They’re in a title race, and they’re five points clear of Manchester City. We’re not talking about four or five games gone; we’re talking about approaching the halfway stage of the Premier League season — Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City.
“We’re told that positive talks are continuing between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid over a loan signing for Joao Felix. But this is where it gets difficult because Atletico, we’re told, wants around £19million for that six-month loan deal. That’s for the loan fee and the wages.
“Arsenal, of course, feels that’s far too much for just a six-month loan. But if you take away the figures just for one moment, I think for both clubs, this type of deal would work. Atletico Madrid feels he’s not going to be part of their plans. They spent over £130m for Joao Felix when they bought him; he’s still got three years left on his contract. If they were to offer him now with clubs knowing they want to offload him, I don’t know how much money they’d get for Joao Felix. They’d probably make a huge loss.
“A loan with any kind of option would carry the same issue for Atletico Madrid because how much of an option price would they get? So it’s kind of a calculated gamble that they’re making here.
“If they can offload Joao Felix for the next six months, and he performs really, really well, he comes back to Atletico Madrid with still three years left on his contract and his market value probably higher than it is now.
“As far as Arsenal are concerned, they’ve got an injury with Gabriel Jesus, but he’s expected to come back before the end of the season. So why not bring in a short-term fix in Joao Felix, and when Jesus comes back, you can still play the likes of Felix and Mudryk and compete with Saka and Martinelli for the remainder of the season without disturbing what Jesus could bring to the team.”
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