Mikel Arteta has doubts over signing Joao Felix after Arsenal made an approach for the Atletico Madrid forward, according to reports in Spain.
Atletico are open to offloading the Portugal international in the January transfer window and will consider a loan deal as no club has indicated they are willing to meet their €100 million (£88m) asking price.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all discussed the possibility of signing Felix next month.
But according to El Confidencial’s Kike Marin, Arteta has reservations about bringing Felix to Arsenal and is targeting another striker in La Liga.
Meanwhile, The Times report that Atletico are demanding an £8m loan fee for Felix and want the 23-year-old’s salary covered in full, which takes the total cost of the deal to around £16m for half a season.
It’s understood that Atletico are also reluctant to include a purchase clause in any deal involving Felix, who cost them €126m (£113m) in 2019.
Speaking earlier this month, Atletico’s president Miguel Angel Gil Marin indicated that Felix will leave the club in the January transfer window.
‘Signing him was the biggest bet the club has made in its history,’ Gil Marin told TVE.
‘I think he is a top world-class player, but because of the relationship with the coach, his playing time, his motivation… it’d be reasonable to analyse an option for him to depart if one arrives.
‘It’s reasonable to think that he might leave, although I’d love him to stay. But, that’s not the player’s plan.’
Felix, meanwhile, made it clear he is unhappy playing under Diego Simeone at Atletico during Portugal’s World Cup campaign in Qatar this month.
‘The way you play here and at the club are different,’ Felix told Portuguese channel Spor TV.
‘When the conditions are favourable, things go better.’
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