Arsenal have asked about Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side want his wages paid in full plus an £8m loan fee for six months.
Chelsea and Manchester United have also spoken about the Portuguese but the figures are deemed too expensive, however Mikel Arteta will be hoping to take advantage having urged the club’s board to back him in January.
Chelsea had previously been keen on Felix as they look to solve their goal scoring woes that have left them struggling in attack compared to their rivals at the top of the table this term.
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Joao Felix has fallen out of favour at Atletico Madrid and has attracted Arsenal interest
Atletico paid £114m for the Portugal in 2019 but know it will be unlikely to recoup much of that given the 21-year-old’s inconsistent form at the Wanda Metropolitano since.
Felix is adept to playing on the left flank, where he features for Portugal and where he started four of his country’s five games at the World Cup in Qatar.
During the tournament he netted in their opening game against Ghana while he produced two assists in the 6-1 demolition of Switzerland in the last-16.
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Chelsea and Manchester United had previously shown interest in the Portuguese forward
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Felix has enjoyed an enhanced reputation following a strong World Cup with Portugal
Despite the shock exit to Morocco, Felix’s impressive tournament has raised his stock again having fallen out of favour under Diego Simeone in the Spanish capital.
He has only started five LaLiga games this term.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are being asked to pay £85m for their other top target Mykhailo Mudryk of Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Gunners have already had a £57m bid rejected by the Ukrainian side, but the player has hinted he wants to join the Gunners after posting an image of him on social media watching their 3-1 Boxing Day win over West Ham.
Shakhtar’s deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini had previously confirmed Arsenal’s interest in the Shakhtar star.
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Mikel Arteta is keen to bolster his attack as the Gunners press for the Premier League title
‘Mudryk has received the message, like all the other players, to show up for the training camp in Antalya on January 9.
‘Arsenal’s interest is there, I can’t deny it. However, today he is called up for the first training camp which runs from January 9 to February 9, then in Warsaw we will prepare for the next European games.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
