Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is eager to sign Joao Felix but this will only happen if the Premier League champions can offload Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, reports in Spain.
A few years ago, Joao Felix was a goal-scoring prodigy but his career has become stagnant ever since he moved to Atletico Madrid. At Benfica, he had scored 20 goals in just 42 matches but under Simeone, he’s being forced to play a totally different game.
Since 2019, Felix has played in 111 games across all competitions for Atletico but he’s managed to net only 30 goals. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola remains a fan which is why he is eager to sign him for Manchester City.
Will Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling both leave?
City will have to shell out around €80-90 million for Joao Felix and that is only possible if they can sell off both Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus is on the verge of joining Arsenal so Man City will be able to bag around €50 million from there and as things stand, Chelsea are keen to sign Raheem Sterling.
🚨 Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to sign João Félix but the transfer essentially depends on the departures of Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling.
(Source: @brunoandrd) pic.twitter.com/7zic8xF5xe
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) June 23, 2022
Sterling is yet to agree to a new deal with City as he is having second thoughts about his future which is why Chelsea feel they can convince him to move to Stamford Bridge.
Man City are also looking to bag around €50-60 million from Chelsea which means they will very easily be able to finance a move for Joao Felix.
Will Atletico Madrid agree to sell Joao Felix?
It’s pretty obvious that a player like Joao Felix is not suited for Simeone’s style of play but at Manchester City, he can do wonders.
However, it will be an uphill battle to convince Atletico Madrid to part ways with him.
The Spanish side paid around €128 million to sign him from Benfica in 2019 and his current deal with the club expires in 2026 which means Atleti are in no hurry to sell him off.
€80-90 million is a figure which is doing the rounds in the media but in reality, Simeone’s side can ask for a hell lot more and price out Manchester City.
Whether Joao Felix fits into his plans or not, Diego Simeone does not need to cash in on him this summer which is why we think Man City will find it extremely difficult to sign him. Apart from an outrageous transfer fee, we don’t see this move seeing the light of the day.
