Arsenal have moved to the top of the queue for Portugal‘s Qatar 2022 World Cup star forward Joao Felix, the Mirror reports.
Aston Villa had emerged as a surprise potential destination for the 23-year-old, who joined Atletico Madrid for a club-record £113million in 2019.
Felix has been tipped to leave the Spanish capital in January after falling out of favour with manager Diego Simeone, but is thought to have no intention of moving to Villa Park despite the arrival of Unai Emery as manager.
Felix’s agent, Jorge Mendes, was reportedly involved in Emery’s return to the Premier League, prompting speculation he was pushing to also send the Portugal forward to the Midlands. However, as Felix has other plans, league-leaders Arsenal appear to have stolen a march.
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