Joao Felix is not Man Utd’s answer to Ronaldo problem

Robin Bairner

• 5 Nov 2022 11:54 GMT
• 3 min read

Joao Felix has been tipped as a potential January signing for Manchester United, but in reality, the Portugal international is unlikely to be a player that the Red Devils are closely looking at.

Atletico Madrid’s shock exit not just from the Champions League but European football entirely is set to prompt the Spanish club into a dramatic change of direction.

Atleti are ready to put six stars up for sale, potentially as early as January, and among those players who could be sold is Joao Felix.

MORE: Man Utd could be powerless to stop summer signing leaving in January

United were linked with a possible move for the 22-year-old in the summer, but after a brief spell of speculation, this quickly died away.

With the Red Devils in need of offensive reinforcements because of Cristiano Ronaldo’s unhappiness at the club and the persistent unavailability of Anthony Martial, Felix once again finds himself linked with a transfer to Man Utd in January.

Although he burst onto the scene with Benfica in 2018/19 by scoring a flurry of goals and thereby establishing himself as a player to watch in world football, he has struggled to build on that reputation. A return of 31 goals over the course of four-and-a-half years with Atleti is meagre return for the €126 million they paid for him.

MORE: Man Utd 'ready to please' Ten Hag with big signing

Why Man Utd won’t sign Joao Felix

In all likelihood, Atleti would be seeking a far greater return on him than the €34m that FootballTransfers values him at. Indeed, his valuation is now less than half of his January 2021 peak of €81m.

Additionally, it is often overlooked that centre forward is not even Joao Felix’s favoured position.

“My best position is as the second forward. Playing like a No.10, with a guy in front of me,” he told The Athletic.

Of course, this is a role where Man Utd already find themselves well equipped. Bruno Fernandes is the regular in that position while Christian Eriksen has played much of his career there. It is simply not an area where cover is required.

Joao Felix moving to Manchester United, therefore, makes little sense. Erik ten Hag’s recruitment team would be better served looking for a pure forward player.