Diego Simeone has poured cold water on Manchester United's chances of signing Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
The Red Devils reportedly had a whopping £113million bid for the 23-year-old forward rejected during the summer transfer window, but recent claims have suggested that Erik ten Hag remains keen on signing him. Felix has only started two matches for Atletico in the past two months, with rumours swirling that he and manager Simeone had fell out.
However, it seems that the Argentine coach still has plans for the Portuguese starlet, who arrived from boyhood club Benfica in a record-breaking £112m deal three-and-a-half years ago.
"Joao is one of the players who has scored the most goals out of the forwards we have, beyond the fact that he has three now," Simeone explained on Friday, via Marca. "He has the goal and hopefully he can continue to be with us and that he can perform at the level he has shown so many times playing and to show that he has a goal because we need him."
While Felix has only played around 40 per cent of available minutes in La Liga this season, his boss' comments suggest that the Portugal international won't be Old Trafford bound come January. According to Spanish outlet Cadena Ser, the Red Devils were poised to make a transfer bid in the coming weeks, with Ten Hag labelled as a big admirer.
In pre-seaso, Felix shut down talk of a possible departure by telling Maisefutbol : "I am not considering leaving Atletico. I'm fine and focused on Atletico. I'm calm about the future. I'm aware of what I can do and I'm good with myself."
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Ten Hag recently hinted at United's plans for the January transfer window, with the World Cup break allowing him plenty of time to plot his business. With numerous injuries to his forward line, and Cristiano Ronaldo still looking for an exit, the Dutch tactician has made it clear that attack is an area in which his side are lacking.
"We need options," Ten Hag declared after the Red Devils recently won 1-0 away to Real Socidead in the Europa League. "We have problems there [with injuries]. Antony is not available, Anthony Martial is not available, Jadon Sancho is not available. So it's thin."
Although Martial has since returned, Ronaldo missed United's final two games before the World Cup due to illness. Last month, Ten Hag was asked about his preparation for the upcoming transfer window, to which he replied: "In the background, we always continue a process, working on the squad, so we want to have top sport culture and you see and examine how you can improve and that’s what we will do."
