Arsenal and Tottenham have been told how much it could cost to sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid this summer, with both clubs now alerted to the availability of the 22-year-old after Diego Simeone has reportedly changed his stance on the striker.
In March, football.london understood that the Gunners were interested in signing the Portugal international, with Mikel Arteta eager to bolster his frontline following the exits of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. However, at the time, Felix was deemed untouchable by the Spanish giants but the Atletico Madrid boss has since had a change of heart.
Meanwhile, The Express are reporting that Atletico may be willing to include Tottenham forward Giovani Lo Celso - who enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Villarreal last season - as part of any deal involving Felix.
According to BarcaTimes, Felix is no longer considered 'non-transferable' by Simeone and the striker's agent is in contact with a number of clubs - one of whom is said to be Paris Saint-Germain. Speaking in March amid speculation regarding a move to Arsenal, the 22-year-old insisted that his player was 'happy' at the Metropolitano Stadium and central to Atletico's future endeavours.
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Simone said: "Joao Felix meets what the team needs. We have a way of working with the forwards. He’s doing very well, he’s happy, enthusiastic and it’s very important on an individual level so that he can later move on to the collective, which is what matters."
However, if Arsenal or Tottenham wish to win the race for Felix this summer, they must be prepared to table around £103.7million, according to CIES Football Observatory. The striker enjoyed his best campaign for Atletico this season, contributing eight goals and four assists in 24 La Liga appearances before injury ended his season prematurely in April.
Felix, whose contract in the Spanish capital expires in 2026, was named the club's player of the season in May, but is still yet to reach the heights expected of him since arriving in 2019 from Benfica for an eye-watering £114million. Though, he has still managed to garner a wealth of interest from Europe's leading sides.
While the north London duo are reportedly facing competition from PSG - who have Champions League qualification leverage over the Gunners - Arteta is still said to be interested in signing Felix. And, the Spaniard's proposed overhaul - similar to last year's £150million summer splurge - could emerge as a lucrative selling point.
When asked if he expects another busy transfer window in terms of player recruitment, he said: "I am expecting so, yes. I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.
"If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers. You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time."
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