Forlan Backing 86M Rated United Target To Make Coutinho Like Impact If He Seals Transfer

Ex-Manchester United striker Diego Forlan believes Joao Felix could flourish if he does leave Atletico Madrid in the New Year.

The Portuguese international is thought to be a target for the Red Devils and Forlan claims that, if the player does seal a move away from Spain, he may thrive much like Philippe Coutinho did when he arrived at Liverpool:

“Joao Felix is a very good player, he is young and has a lot of quality. “[Atletico Madrid] paid a lot of money for him and he has not been playing as expected, but he is still very young. There are reports coming out about the possibility of him leaving Atletico and, if he leaves, he could even increase his performance. I believe in that. It happens a lot. It happened, for example, with Philippe Coutinho, who played very little at Inter and when he went to Liverpool he improved a lot.”

It is an interesting comparison that Forlan makes but, it should be noted, that Liverpool only paid £8.5m for Coutinho while Felix will likely cost ten times that figure.

Reports in the Spanish media suggest Atletico’s asking price is €100m (£86m) so any team would be taking a big risk on a forward who simply hasn’t made a great impact since moving to La Liga.

Other teams, including Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, have been suggested as potential destinations for Felix but it is believed United’s main rivals for the 23-year-old will be Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.