Barcelona have threatened to steal yet another Arsenal target after their president Joan Laporta announced his interest in Joao Felix. This comes after the Spanish side reportedly agreed a deal for Franck Kessie who himself would have also been the perfect fit for the Gunners.
According to Spanish news outlet El Chringuito, Arsenal are interested in signing the Portuguese star, and a deal is possible because Diego Simeone wants to replace him with Goncalo Guedes from Valencia. This deal could be interrupted by Barcelona after their recent admittance in previously wanting to sign Felix.
Arsenal must prevent the Catalan side from taking another of their prime targets. Edu needs to be proactive in this deal if Felix is Mikel Arteta’s ideal forward for the next season because the youngster would transform the Gunners’ attack.
READ MORE: Arsenal can takeover Chelsea transfer scheme with striker move to guarantee Champions League future
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta's proposed £46m striker transfer has passed his Arsenal audition thanks to Chelsea
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Kessie has signed as a new Barcelona player until June 2026. The Ivorian midfielder was available on a free transfer.
The north London side have previously been linked to Kessie. The Mirror had claimed that Arsenal, along with Manchester United and Spurs, are interested in securing the Ivorian's services.
However, Edu missed out on this transfer steal. Kessie would have been a good acquisition as the Gunners will be in desperate need of a new midfielder at the end of the season with Arteta's squad currently running on it's bare bones.
The Gunners must not see a repeat of the Kessie situation with Felix, which seems possible after Laporta’s recent comments. Speaking to Spanish outlet RAC1, he said: "I really like Joao Felix. It’s a pleasure to see him playing football. Last summer we were working to complete a swap deal with Atletico Madrid between Felix and Griezmann, then it collapsed."
The forward was highly touted by Europe’s biggest clubs after his amazing Europa League run with Benfica during the 2018/2019 season. It was Atletico Madrid who signed him later in that summer for a blockbuster £114m transfer, as the youngster was tipped to become one of the world’s best players.
The Portuguese international would be an excellent option for Arsenal as the Gunners will be in desperate in of a striker in the summer transfer window. Not just down to the shortages in this position, but also due to the lack of quality if Alexandre Lacazette is to depart from the club.
Felix comes from the Benfica academy which has had a lot of recent success, which Arsenal's domestic rivals Manchester City, in particular, have benefited from. Mikel Arteta has an excellent chance to follow in Pep Guardiola's footsteps by doing the same with the signing of Felix, whose stardom was once compared to Kylian Mbappe.
Signing the forward would be a great coup. However, losing out on Kessie should provide Edu with a reminder that he must push through with a deal for Felix to prevent potentially losing out on him to Barcelona.
