Atletico want £13m to loan Felix to Man United, more than TWICE 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.

It’s understood that Felix also wants around £5.3m in wages over the remainder of the season, pushing the overall cost of the deal close to the £20m mark.

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

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

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

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

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 has to work on a tighter budget which has also been affected by the uncertainty over United’s ownership after the Glazer indicated a willingness to sell the club.