Arsenal are unlikely to make an approach for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix unless his club lower their valuation, according to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs.
The La Liga side are said to be demanding around €100m (£88m) for the Portuguese international and Jacobs says the Gunners have cooled their interest as a result:
Atleti still maintain no cut-price sale. PSG keen and several EPL clubs have made enquiries at the player end. But one or two (#AFC included) put off by the expected price.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) December 22, 2022
Considering Felix’s situation at Atletico, it is surprising that the La Liga side are demanding so much. They clearly want to recoup as much of the £113m they spent on the player as possible but his performances don’t justify the outlay.
There have been some suggestions that Atletico may be open to loan offers but, even then, it is believed that they will demand a clause that stipulates that the club has an obligation to buy the player at the end of the season.
As pundit Steve Nicol recently pointed out as well, Felix wouldn’t be a direct replacement for Gabriel Jesus anyway, considering he likes to play deeper. For that reason, Felix may end up going to another Premier League team, with Manchester United and Chelsea having also been mentioned as potential suitors.
