Over the past few days, the future of Julian Alvarez has dominated the headlines. One club that has been heavily linked with a move for Alvarez is Atletico Madrid. Now a new report indicates that they are prepared to offer Joao Felix as a makeweight in any potential deal to sign Alvarez. But would Manchester City take that deal? That doesn’t appear to be a viable option on closer inspection.
Jeorge Bird has reported for the Daily Mail that Atletico Madrid has offered Joao Felix as part of their deal to sign Julian Alvarez. Bird further reports that the Portuguese international plus cash will be Atletico’s offer to sign Alvarez. Furthermore, Bird reports that the World Cup winner is eager to join Atletico Madrid.
EXCL 🚨 Atletico Madrid offer Joao Felix to Man City as makeweight for £85m-rated Julian Alvarez in loan deal with option to buy – plus cash
Full story 👇
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) August 5, 2024
Joao Felix is a nice player but would Manchester City want the Portuguese international?
Joao Felix is a player who has bounced between clubs of late. Since he signed for Atletico Madrid in 2019 from Benfica, he has failed to live up to the promise he showed during his time at Benfica. Last season he spent the 23/24 season on loan at Barcelona. Before that, he spent the second half of the 22/23 season on loan at Chelsea. During both loan spells, he failed to hit the heights expected of a player of his reputation. For whatever reason Felix hasn’t become the player he was expected to become when he burst onto the scene at Benfica. With this in mind, it appears unlikely that Manchester City would be interested in adding the Portuguese international to their squad.
As a player, Joao Felix has the tools required to be a Manchester City player. He can play in a variety of roles up front and has the talent to make it at the highest level. Felix was once considered one of the brightest young prospects in world football during his time at Benfica. But for various reasons, he hasn’t become the player that he was expected to become. It is hard to see Manchester City taking a chance on Felix to replace Julian Alvarez as Jeorge Bird’s report indicates.
There is no doubt that Atletico Madrid are making moves to potentially sign Julian Alvarez. But on closer inspection, they will have to pay City’s full asking price. The idea of Joao Felix as a player is always a nice one. But his output in recent seasons doesn’t match his reputation. Based on this it doesn’t seem that Manchester City would be overly interested in adding Joao Felix to Pep Guardiola’s squad.
