Joao Felix &#8211; CaughtOffside

Liverpool looking to steal 6ft 5in player from Aston Villa

Returning Arsenal star praises key figure who was “very supportive” during lengthy injury

Exclusive: Arsenal transfer target could move for €25-30m, two other clubs have had bids rejected so far

According to The Sun, the Portugal international is the number one target to replace Diaby.

Emery’s team can sign the player on a loan deal with an option to buy for £50m.

The Premier League club face competition from Felix’s former club Benfica to sign the player this summer.

In order to cope with Champions League football next season, Emery is eyeing depth for his squad and he is keen to bring Felix to the Premier League this summer.

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Inside Spain: Arsenal scouring Spain’s top talents, Chelsea re-open talks for forward and Joao Felix future

Ruairidh Barlow — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 13:27:30 +0000

Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Euro 2024 has been a good time for Spain, with La Roja playing comfortably the best football at the tournament, and now arguably into the final four as favourites. An injury to Pedri was the main sour note from their win over Germany, but even then it was his replacement Dani Olmo who first scored and then provided the cross for Mikel Merino’s outstanding header.

The tournament has provided a useful barrier for many of the Spain players linked with a move, with Nico Williams, Olmo and Merino (and his father) all saying they will deal with transfers after the tournament – when they will also be exempt from media duties too. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta clearly still enjoys watching La Liga, as not only have Williams and Merino been linked to the Gunners, there’s also Jules Kounde and long-term target Martin Zubimendi.

There’s bad news on the latter front, as Zubimendi has, like last summer, reiterated his desire to stay at Real Sociedad. Kounde has also in recent months said he has no plans to leave Barcelona, but there is a steady stream of links to French defender, and if Barcelona cannot sell Ronald Araujo, then seemingly they would be open to letting Kounde go.

? Ronald Araujo is set to miss 6-8 weeks, as reported by Javi Miguel.

The #FCBarcelona defender injured his hamstring while playing in Uruguay's Copa America quarter-final against Brazil. pic.twitter.com/esgZyDzmPG

— Football España (@footballespana_) July 7, 2024

Benfica have been heavily linked to Joao Felix this week. Atletico Madrid would not only be delighted not to have to loan him back to Barcelona on a cheaper deal, and to move him permanently, but there has been no offer for Felix yet. It remains to be seen whether he would be open to an offer if one arrived. Chelsea appear to have re-opened talks for Samu Omorodion, but if Atletico demand his release clause, then it might be a little too much for the Blues.

Across the city, Real Madrid continue their waiting game for Leny Yoro, but another name familiar to Arsenal fans, Dani Ceballos, is looking to leave for more minutes. If Los Blancos are to let him go, they want a decent offer though, meaning the Premier League is his most likely destination.

West Ham have been linked with a number of players this summer, and the latest to be attributed to their shortlist is Villarreal’s Alexander Sorloth, who finished runner-up as top scorer in Spain last summer. It seems as if it will be a busy summer in Spain this year, but all eyes are on France on Tuesday for now, as Luis de la Fuente steps forward as an unlikely hero.

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(Video) Heatbreak for Portugal and Joao Felix as he misses crucial penalty against France

Charlie Patrick — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 22:21:03 +0000

Joao Felix missed a crucial spot kick as Portugal lost 5-3 to France on penalties in the quarter final of Euro 2024.

In what was a fairly even game neither side could find a breakthrough in 90 minutes or extra time with the game being decided by a penalty shootout.

Portugal won on penalties against Slovenia in the previous round, and would have fancied their chances again, especially as Kylian Mbappe one of France’s best penalty takers had been taken off.

The quality of penalties in the shoot out was superb with Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Nuno Mendes all scoring their sport kicks for Portugal.

With the shoot-out level at 2-2 Felix stepped forward, but his strike struck the post to put Portugal behind.

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Portugal needed the France players to fold under the pressure or for Diogo Costa to repeat his heroics against Slovenia.

Unfortunately neither happened as Bradley Barcola and Theo Hernandez both scored, to set up a semi final against Spain.

Watch Joao Felix miss crucial penalty against France

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?#EURO2024? ?#PORFRA #FRAPOR #CR7 pic.twitter.com/KMNEatiKWp

— ?????? ?????? ?? ????? HD (@HD0997) July 5, 2024

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Exclusive: Patience needed from João Félix, Todibo race still open, no change for Salah, Chiesa out and more

Fabrizio Romano — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 18:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

—

Patience needed from Joao Felix and Barcelona

Nothing has changed with regard to Joao Felix.

Barcelona are still keen on bringing him back, but they need to agree on a deal with Atlético Madrid and that’s not easy or guaranteed yet.

Patience is needed, exactly the same as last year, and from the player’s point of view, Joao Felix is currently waiting again for Barcelona.

Several clubs in the race for Todibo

I’m not aware that Jean-Clair Todibo wasn’t interested in a move to West Ham.

I understand that West Ham were never going to bid for him without guarantees on the player side, and though he was keen on the move the problem was on the price – which is still considered to be too high.

The race for Todibo remains open, and there are several clubs interested.

No approaches for Mo Salah so far

Despite the rumours, I’ve still zero updates on Mo Salah’s situation so far.

It’s quiet, there are no changes with Saudi clubs, and though the interest is there since last summer, Liverpool have not received any proposals or approaches at the moment.

I don’t have any confirmation or guarantee either about Salah leaving and joining Saudi this summer.

Juve to part ways with Chiesa

The decision of Juventus has been made in the case of Federico Chiesa. The player will leave the club this summer, this is the plan.

You may ask me why an important player is being sold, and it’s because the new manager, Thiago Motta, wants to go in a different direction.

Juventus are not counting on him, so Chiesa is expected to be sold by Juventus this summer for something around €20m/€25m. It’s that cheap because the player is out of contract in summer 2025.

For sure, Federico Chiesa is a big opportunity on the market, and he will probably have several options to choose from.

Arsenal leading the race for Calafiori

Talking about Italian players, let me say that in the last 24 hours, Arsenal made contact on the club side for Riccardo Calafiori.

Talks are now ongoing but we are still waiting for an official bid, still waiting for the club to club agreement.

The player gave a green light to Arsenal in terms of contract, and is really excited by the possibility of working under Mikel Arteta.

He’s considered a proper, proper talent for the left-back or centre-back position, he can cover both of them.

Arsenal are really convinced that they have an agreement almost ready on the player side, but are still waiting to reach agreement with Bologna. I told you that the relationship with Bologna is very good, and they want something around €50m/€55m.

The other club monitoring the situation is Chelsea, but at the moment Arsenal are ahead.

Kilman in but Paqueta not yet out at West Ham

Flamengo’s directors have travelled to London to make an approach to West Ham for Lucas Paquetá but the reply was clear: no chance for a loan deal.

At the moment, the deal is complicated but Flamengo are keeping doors open to a new attempt in the next days or weeks. It’s not an easy one, for sure.

Sticking with West Ham, the deal is done between them and Wolves for Max Kilman. £40m is the package agreement for the player, wanted by Julen Lopetegui.

So, an important signing for the club.

Olise medical on Sunday, deal to complete soon

Michael Olise will have the first part of his medical as a new Bayern Munich player on Sunday. Right after that he will sign a contract until 2029.

The reason this has taken a little longer than expected is because Crystal Palace, as part of the agreement, will also have a sell-on clause, understood to be around 10%-15% and the issue to resolve was that.

Now everything is agreed between Bayern and Palace, and they’re waiting to exchange the documents, waiting to sign, waiting to complete the medical.

He should be unveiled by Bayern really, really soon,

De Ligt only wants Manchester United

With Matthijs de Ligt, contact between Manchester United and Bayern continues.

Bayern want to sign Jonathan Tah and they’re very confident, so will keep discussing the structure of the de Ligt deal with United.

I’m told the only club with the authorisation from the player to negotiate with his agent is Manchester United. That is the intention of Matthijs de Ligt.

Finally, after difficulties for a fantastic defender, he could be back working for a manager who trusts him.

PSG interest in Joshua Kimmich is genuine

The interest of Paris Saint-Germain in Joshua Kimmich is real, is genuine, and from what I’m told it doesn’t depend on João Neves. That’s a separate story, a completely separate story.

Paris Saint-Germain love João Neves too, but at the moment he’s very expensive; €120m release clause.

PSG appreciate both players, but Kimmich is out of contact in one year, and doesn’t have that kind of crazy price.

Dele Alli working hard but no new club yet

To be honest, I’ve zero information on my side on Dele Alli’s future right now.

He’s working hard and training well, but I don’t know anything concrete about negotiations with clubs or concrete talks. Probably it’s still too early.

Nothing is happening right now.

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Exclusive: Joao Felix wants Barcelona return but issue remains says Romano

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 07:26:15 +0000

At present, Joao Felix is in a kind of football limbo.

Not wanted by his parent club, Atletico Madrid, his desire to play at Barcelona again is being stalled by the Catalan giants effectively having no money.

Over the past few years Barca have struggled to stay on the right side of Financial Fair Play but have just about managed to do so.

Bringing through academy products from La Masia has been a necessity rather than a luxury, though it has seemingly worked to their advantage.

Joao Felix must be patient

Still far from the finished article, Barca are, nevertheless, on the way back.

In order to get back to the very top of domestic and European football of course, big names still need to be signed, and despite blowing hot and cold, Joao Felix is still one of Europe’s best.

The issue, according to Fabrizio Romano, is agreeing on something with Atleti.

“Nothing has changed with regard to Joao Felix,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.

Joao Felix wants to return to Barcelona

“Barcelona are still keen on bringing him back, but they need to agree on a deal with Atletico Madrid and that’s not easy or guaranteed yet.

“Patience is needed, exactly the same as last year, and from the player’s point of view, Joao Felix is currently waiting again for Barcelona.”

If, in the end, the Blaugranes are unable to afford to re-sign the Portuguese, his options would appear to be limited, given that only Saudi Pro League clubs seem to have shown any interest in his services.

That could be because of a projected sale price, or that the player isn’t as consistent as his transfer fee might suggest.

With a couple of months left of the transfer window there’s no need for Felix or Barcelona to panic just yet though.

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Aston Villa planning ambitious swoop for Atletico Madrid forward

CJ — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 19:57:52 +0000

Aston Villa are plotting an ambitious summer move for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, according to reports.

Felix joined Colchoneros from Benfica for a club-record £113m fee (via Sky Sports) back in July 2019, making 131 appearances for the club across all competitions and notching 34 goals and 18 assists since.

The Portugal international — currently on duty with his nation at Euro 2024 — has picked up a La Liga title during his time in Madrid. However, across the last two seasons, he’s found himself out of favour, being loaned first to Chelsea for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign and then to Barcelona in 2023/24.

Felix was unable to find his best form in either loan and it’s understood Atletico Madrid are comfortable with letting him leave the club in order to finance new transfers this summer.

Aston Villa launch ambitious bid for Felix

Joao Felix celebrates scoring a goal during the International friendly match between Portugal and Ireland at the Municipal Stadium in Aveiro, on June 11, 2024, ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament in Germany.

According to The Sunday Times (via Birmingham World), Aston Villa are among the leading clubs chasing Felix this summer.

Unai Emery will be keen to add quality and European experience to his squad after guiding Villa to a shock Champions League qualification last season.

Felix’s former club, Benfica, have reportedly already lodged a £27.5m bid for half of the player’s rights, while Barcelona would also like to bring him back to the Camp Nou but are unable to match that bid.

The report also states Villa have long held an interest in Felix and that there is a strong mutual respect between the 40-time Portugal international and Emery.

Felix might well feel like he has unfinished business in England after managing just four goals in 16 Premier League appearances during his loan stay at Stamford Bridge two seasons ago.

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Video: Portugal’s Joao Felix produces best moment of skill at Euro 2024 so far

Darren Looney — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 20:32:41 +0000

Portugal’s Joao Felix has produced one of the best moments of skill at Euro 2024 so far and it was the highlight of a poor half for Roberto Martinez’s men.

The Portuguese have nothing to play for against the Georgians as they have already topped Group F and they trail the match 1-0 at the halftime break with Willy Sagnol’s team needing a win to qualify.

There was not much for Portugal to cheer about but a moment of brilliance from Felix would have got them off of their seats.

The Barcelona star executed a delightful nutmeg towards the end of the half and it may have been the best piece of skill at the Euros so far.

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Liverpool looking to steal 6ft 5in player from Aston Villa

Returning Arsenal star praises key figure who was “very supportive” during lengthy injury

Exclusive: Arsenal transfer target could move for €25-30m, two other clubs have had bids rejected so far

Watch: Portugal’s Joao Felix produces best moment of skill at Euro 2024 so far

What a skill by Joao Felix ??

pic.twitter.com/jVeNIJTfjP

— Goffeng – FUT Trader (@Goffeng_Trader) June 26, 2024

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Transfer news: Luiz to Arsenal or Juventus? Plus Man United duo to leave, Fofana future, & more

Fabrizio Romano — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 17:15:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

How Juventus can make Douglas Luiz transfer happen

There were some interesting updates yesterday on the situation of Douglas Luiz. He could really leave Aston Villa in this summer’s transfer window, and he’s a concrete option for Juventus.

Firstly, in the next hours, Thiago Motta will sign his contract as new Juventus manager, until 2027, and then Teun Koopmeiners is an absolute priority for Juventus in midfield, and the player is super keen on the move. Juve can make both deals happen with outgoings and players involved – it’s not easy, but they are working on both deals.

So, Juventus will work on Koopmeiners, but they see an opportunity with Luiz. There are, however, two crucial points. The first one is the salary – Luiz has an important salary at Aston Villa, and so his salary with Juve would have to be in line with what they give to their other big players, or the deal is not going to be possible. And the other crucial point, as of today, is that the only way for Juventus to make this transfer happen is with a swap deal. Juve can’t go to Villa and pay €60m – they want to negotiate with Villa and this will follow in the next days, but the only way is with a swap deal.

In terms of players who could be involved, Juve are prepared to discuss Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior. Both players are out of contract next summer at Juventus, and not currently close to extending their contracts. Both players are being discussed, but the cash will also be crucial for Aston Villa.

If it doesn’t work out with Juventus, other clubs could enter the race for Luiz, as there is also interest from the Premier League. Luiz is open, the salary will be important, so let’s see what happens.

Benjamin Sesko is staying at RB Leipzig

Benjamin Sesko is staying at RB Leipzig – the decision has been made by the player and his agent after taking their time. He had possibilities from Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal – these three clubs offered Sesko the possibility to join Premier League football.

But, Sesko had a new contract proposal from Leipzig since three weeks ago and he decided to accept. It’s an important contract, he’s expected to be the star of the squad, a key player for Leipzig next season, and an important player for the manager Marco Rose.

Sesko decided to stay because he decided this was the best option for his development, something similar to what Erling Haaland did in summer 2021 when he was at Borussia Dortmund.

So, Sesko stays and his new contract will be signed in the next 24 hours, and then a future in the Premier League is still very possible, but not for this summer. Sesko is staying at RB Leipzig.

Are Man United really hijacking the Joao Palhinha transfer?

I wanted to clarify something on Joao Palhinha because yesterday we had some reports in England about interest from Manchester United and Barcelona. However, at the moment, Man United are still waiting to resolve the manager situation before attacking any position for the market.

Of course, United are still keeping an eye on the market, but they will not advance in any negotiations until they know who is going to be their coach. So at the moment Palhinha is not negotiating with Manchester United, we’ll have to wait and see what happens there with Erik ten Hag, or if they decide to go for a replacement.

Palhinha was also linked with Barca, but with their Financial Fair Play situation at the moment, they can’t go there and spend €40-50m on the Fulham midfielder. So, interest is there, but in terms of a concrete story, Bayern Munich have an agreement with Palhinha on a contract – the wages, the project – and Palhinha wants to go to Bayern.

Now, Bayern need to agree a fee with Fulham and they will push hard this week to try to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Fulham are obviously playing their game, but at the moment a hijack is not expected, with Bayern working hard on the Palhinha deal, and with new manager Vincent Kompany giving his green light to the board, so it’s on the Bayern board to make it happen. The negotiation with Fulham will continue, so let’s follow that, step by step.

Youssouf Fofana is leaving Monaco and would be perfect for English football

As reported yesterday, Youssouf Fofana is 100% leaving Monaco this summer. At the moment it’s a calm situation, nothing close or advanced with any club for Fofana from what I heard. He just wants to try something new and Monaco don’t want to lose him for free in 2025, so both parties are keen on an exit for this summer.

Let’s see who will enter the race as it’s still early, but in my opinion, he’s really perfect for English football, I can see him doing well in the Premier League…last summer, he was on Manchester United’s list.

Michael Olise is wanted by Man Utd and Chelsea but player sales could be crucial

Michael Olise is a player Manchester United like, he’s been on their list for months and so that could be one to watch, but we also know that Chelsea have been closely monitoring him as one of their targets for this summer after they were really close to signing him last year.

So, Chelsea are still there, but United as well. With United it’s really important to make some room financially with the sale of someone like Jadon Sancho, and also Mason Greenwood. They have to sell both players, and I think the amount they get from these two deals will be really important to see how much they can invest on a winger like Olise.

A lot of fans have been asking me more about the Sancho situation, but for the moment all I know is what I’ve shared, so I don’t have information yet on other clubs who could join the race along with Borussia Dortmund.

What I’ve been told is that Man United expect other clubs to join the race, not only Dortmund. As for Sancho, he loves BVB and staying there has always been his priority but the financial package could be an issue, so that’s why the situation is 100% open.

Barcelona want to keep Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix

Pep Guardiola spoke yesterday to confirm that Manchester City and Barcelona will soon have a conversation about Joao Cancelo. Barca will go strong for Cancelo after his loan from Man City last season, and the plan is the same for Joao Felix in the next days and weeks. It could take some time because Financial Fair Play clarity is needed, but Barcelona want to keep the two players.

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