Atletico Madrid 'prepared to sell Man United-linked Joao Felix in January'

Atletico Madrid are reportedly willing to cut their losses and part ways with Manchester United-linked attacker Joao Felix in the January transfer window.

The Portugal international commanded a £113m transfer fee to join Diego Simeone's side from Benfica in the summer of 2019 after bursting onto the scene in his homeland.

However, Felix has been unable to live up to expectations at the Wanda Metropolitano, where he remains under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Amid a lack of domestic starts under Simeone, Felix has been persistently linked with an exit from the capital club over the past few months and is believed to have been on the radar of several top clubs.

Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have all been mooted as potential destinations for Felix, but Man United are now said to hold the strongest interest in the attacker.

© Reuters

A recent report claimed that Felix's agent Jorge Mendes had offered the 23-year-old to the Red Devils, who are searching for a mid-season successor to Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to The Times, Atletico were not willing to enter negotiations over a sale in the summer, but the Rojiblancos are now prepared to listen to bids for Felix in January.

The 2020-21 La Liga champions had no interest in parting ways with the 23-year-old before the start of the new season, but his relationship with Simeone is said to have deteriorated.

Atletico have reportedly accepted that they will not make back the £113m they shelled out three years ago, but interested parties could still be quoted a price of €100m (£85.7m) if Felix performs well at the World Cup.

The attacker started two of Portugal's three games in Group H and came up with one goal in his side's 3-2 win over Ghana, as A Selecao progressed to the last 16 as group winners.

© Reuters

However, Felix has failed to become a regular starter for Atletico under Simeone, who also has Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Matheus Cunha and Angel Correa vying for starting places.

Felix has recorded four goals and three assists from 18 appearances for Atletico in all competitions this term, but he has only started three Champions League games and five in La Liga.

The Portuguese's total for the Rojiblancos now stands at 33 goals and 18 assists from 129 appearances, including three strikes against Cadiz and Espanyol in Atletico's final two La Liga games before the World Cup break.

Felix was left on the bench for Friday's World Cup defeat to South Korea but could return to the starting lineup when Portugal take on Switzerland in the last 16 on Tuesday evening.