According to the latest report, the Premier League trio of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have been dealt a massive blow in their pursuit of signing Benfica star winger Joao Felix in the upcoming summer transfer window. Reports claim that Serie A giants Juventus are already close to agreeing to terms on a potential deal to land him in Turin.
João Félix is one of the most promising and highly rated wingers on the European continent at the moment and could be ready to leave Benfica at the end of the season. Felix has been labeled as the next ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ because of his incredible dribbling skills and goalscoring abilities. He has been in fine form this season, scoring 14 goals this season across all competitions and also notching up six assists in the process. The teenager most recently scored a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt last week in Benfica’s 4-2 win over the Germans in the Europa League, though his side were knocked out in the second leg.
There are plenty of clubs that are keeping tabs on Felix’s situation at the moment and Juventus are planning on winning that battle this summer. In fact, the Old Lady believes that Felix can actually become a replacement for the misfiring Paulo Dybala at Juventus following his spell of poor form. Reports have claimed that Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici will be holding a meeting with Félix’s agent, Jorge Mendes, on Tuesday in the hopes of reaching an agreement over the player. Juventus are also prepared to match Felix’s current release clause, which is worth €120m at the moment. The Italian champions will also be looking to recoup most of that transfer fee back with the sale of Argentine Dybala.
However, last month, Benfica president Luis Filipe Viera spoke to Tuttosport and stated that Benfica have no real intention of selling Felix at the moment, he said, “Right now we are not interested in selling João Félix, and soon we will increase his release clause. He is one of the best products to have emerged from Portuguese football since Cristiano Ronaldo.”
But Felix himself has revealed that he wants to play for one of the biggest clubs in Spain when he spoke to news outlet Marca, “My dream has always been to play for the biggest clubs in Europe, Spain or England? I would prefer to play in Spain.”
Juventus are ahead of the competition to sign Benfica's Joao Felix but the Portuguese club are demanding the full €120 million clause, [Di Marzio] pic.twitter.com/aI9jIAjhHu
— JuveFC (@juvefcdotcom) April 14, 2019
Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are all keen on signing Felix as they want to dethrone and end the dominance of Manchester City in the Premier League over the next few seasons. Liverpool want a player who can add those goals if they lack current scoring options from the bench, while Arsenal want a player who can provide some width in their team.
Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also want an attacker who can score goals from a winger’s position and Felix fits the bill. But with interest from Juventus this summer and the possibility of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, it seems like Felix will be joining the Serie A champions.
