Chelsea to ‘move swiftly’ for Felix in second Man Utd transfer blow

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Manchester United’s transfer misery could be set to get even worse with Chelsea reportedly looking to steal a march on a deal for Joao Felix. The Red Devils head into the January transfer window desperate to bring in a new striker following Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive departure earlier this month.

Anthony Martial is the only recognised central forward at United now, although Marcus Rashford can also play through the middle. Cody Gakpo was originally seen as the top target with United keeping tabs on the attacker since last summer.

But they’ve now missed out on the Dutchman with Liverpool striking a shock agreement with PSV on Boxing Day. It leaves United needing to look elsewhere for alternatives in attack and Felix has strongly been linked as an option.

Atletico Madrid are seemingly open to offers next month with talk of a potential loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer. Felix has fallen out of favour under Diego Simeone and Atletico’s precarious financial position means that he could be available for a bargain price.

However, United look set to be disappointed again with The Telegraph claiming Chelsea are preparing to launch a bid quickly. The report states that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is personally pushing for a deal from behind the scenes.

It is said that Boehly is ‘willing to move swiftly’ to bring in the Portugal international. Chelsea would be seeking an initial six-month loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer and it’s unlikely to cost anywhere near what Atletico paid to sign the forward from Benfica back in 2019.

The Spanish outfit broke the bank to sign Felix three-and-a-half years ago, paying £100million for the attacker. Liverpool and United had both been linked with Felix before he joined Atletico and the Red Devils could be set to miss out again.

Both Gakpo and Felix were seen as attainable options for United heading into the January transfer window. Memphis Depay and Goncalo Ramos are also being touted as targets, but United are already running out of ideas before the transfer window has even opened.

United could still of course beat Chelsea to the punch and sign Felix, but they may have to move quickly to get a deal done.

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