Is time up for Joao Felix at Atletico Madrid?

James Shearman

• Updated: 8 Dec 2021 20:16 GMT
• 3 min read

Joao Felix could be on his way out of Atletico Madrid as soon as the January transfer window opens.

Felix signed for Los Colchoneros in 2019 for a club-record €126 million (£113m) fee, after an impressive debut season in Portugal.

The 22-year-old registered 15 goals and seven assists in 26 Primeira Liga fixtures.

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He was then signed by Diego Simeone's Atletico as a replacement for Barcelona bound Antoine Griezmann.

And while the former Benfica star has shown glimpses of his undoubted talent, he has not been able to replicate the influence that Griezmann had on the team, so much so that they re-signed the Frenchman last summer.

Age is well and truly on Felix's side, though, but it appears the hierarchy at the Wanda Metropolitano have already seen enough.

What next for Felix?

Felix struggled with injuries at the start of the current campaign but later managed to work his way back into Simeone's plans.

However, three minutes is all he was given in the game against Valencia in November, a match many point to as a critical moment in this debacle.

"Everything starts after the Mestalla game and since, Jorge Mendes contacts the club to request his departure,'' journalist Javier Matallanas told Cadena Ser.

''Atleti has told him that as long as he brings the money, they will let him leave.''

On Tuesday, AS claimed that Atleti would have been willing to sell the wonderkid should they have failed to reach the Champions League knockout rounds.

Indeed, they were able to turn a poor situation on its head and qualify in second place, behind Liverpool, but that has, seemingly, not changed the fact that Felix is up for sale.

Barcelona were heavily linked with the Portugal international in the summer when Griezmann went the other way.

And seeing that a swap deal could not be agreed between the two La Liga giants, La Blaugrana will, instead, have to provide a significant fee to land their man.

Felix would be a step in the right direction in Xavi's rebuild at Camp Nou, but a number of players would have to make way first in order to afford the deal.