Manchester United could be on the verge of a monumental £18.4 million January transfer mistake by signing Joao Felix on loan.
According to a report from The Athletic, Atletico Madrid are demanding an extortionate €21 million (£18.4 million) loan fee for the 23-year-old attacker.
That is a ridiculous amount of money to be paying to sign someone on loan, and Erik ten Hag shouldn’t be going anywhere near Felix for that price.
His struggles with Atletico should serve as a big warning for the Dutchman. And let’s face it, there are plenty of other options out there and available for United.
Manchester United on the verge of big January transfer mistake
Ten Hag and the United board will hopefully be sensible enough not to splash out that kind of cash on a five-month loan deal for Felix. It really would make no sense, either fiscally or from a footballing perspective.
He has bagged just 33 goals and 18 assists in 129 games for the La Liga club. That isn’t a good enough return on the money that Atleti paid to sign him. And who’s to say that he wouldn’t experience similar struggles at Old Trafford?
If Man United want to sign a talented young forward, how about Mykhailo Mudryk, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or Ferran Torres? Sure, they would all be costly, but way better value for money than splashing out over £18m just to loan Felix until the end of the season.
Trusting in the likes of Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho would be far more fruitful options in the long term for United.
Let’s not forget, Atleti are also demanding around £88m for his services at the end of the season.
There are far better ways for Ten Hag to spend his allotted budget this winter. If United sign Felix for an extortionate loan fee, it would be a huge mistake.
Read also: Man United line up shock move to sign 29-year-old goalkeeper.
