Atletico Madrid want £13.25m to loan Joao Felix to Man United, more than TWICE what they want to pay

Atletico Madrid’s £13.25million loan demand for Joao Felix is ​​more than twice what Manchester United are willing to pay for the Portugal star.

Felix is ​​understood to also want around £5.3m in wages for the rest of the season, pushing the total value of the deal closer to the £20m mark.

United rejected those terms out of hand and are now looking for alternatives, having told Atletico and Felix’s agent Jorge Mendes that the deal would have to be cheaper before they would consider returning to the negotiating table .

Atletico Madrid want £13.25m to loan Joao Felix to Man United, a price they consider too high

Sources say there are no live discussions at the moment and that is unlikely to change unless the Spanish club change their stance.

Arsenal and Chelsea have also expressed interest in the 23-year-old – who cost £113m when he moved to Spain from Benfica in the summer of 2019 – but is unlikely to meet Atletico’s demands.

United are in the market for a forward in the January transfer window to replace Felix’s Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, another high-profile client from the Mendes camp.

Erik ten Hag previously targeted Dutchman Cody Gakpo ahead of his £44m move to Liverpool

Manager Erik ten Hag targeted Holland’s Cody Gakpo before the PSV Eindhoven star agreed a £44m move to Liverpool this month.

Having spent a club record £220m on new signings in the summer, Ten Hag will have to work with a tighter budget which has also been affected by uncertainty over United’s ownership after Glazer indicated a willingness to sell. the club.