Manchester United are continuing to rebuild their squad this summer in their pursuit to regain their dominance and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Man United's interest in Joao Felix?
According to Spanish newspaper ABC (via Sport Witness), the Red Devils are one of the clubs interested in signing Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix.
As per the report, Erik ten Hag's side join Newcastle United and Aston Villa in their interest of the talented forward and after a taste of Premier League football with Chelsea, Felix is keen for his agent, Jorge Mendes, to action a move back to England ahead of next season.
What is the market value of Joao Felix?
According to reports coming out of Spain, the LaLiga giants are demanding an eye-watering fee of €140m (£120m) to part ways with their player this summer.
However, CIES Football Observatory state that Felix's market value is currently under half the amount quoted, totalling €60m (£51m), a valuation that would much better suit United's budget.
The Dutch boss has already completed the signing of former Chelsea dynamo Mason Mount, but will reportedly need to offload a number of players during the current window to ensure he can healthily reinvest.
One of the players who has been named on the 'for sale' list at Old Trafford is Jadon Sancho, with the winger struggling to be backed as a consistent first-team starter by his Dutch coach – averaging just 65 minutes per game over 26 Premier League appearances last season.
As a result, the signing of Felix could only further add competition for his positional peer next season, as Sancho is already having to compete with a number of highly-rated wide-forwards with Antony, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho all strong contenders to start.
The Portuguese star – once hailed a "pure talent" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – is one of the hottest young prospects in European football ranking in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five leagues for shot-creating actions, progressive passes, progressive carries, successful take-ons and tackles per 90, as per FBref, proving that he is a consistent ball-winner and attacking threat.
When comparing Felix's output with Sancho's last season, the Atletico talent comfortably outperformed the former Borussia Dortmund ace in several attributes including goal contributions (11 v 9), shots on goal per 90 (4.07 v 1.12), aerial duels won (31.3% v 14.3%).
As well as offering more progressive passes per 90 (4.12 v 4.04), successfully completing more take-ons per 90 (1.89 v 1.86) and winning more tackles per 90 (1.23 v 0.99) than Sancho.
Not only that, Felix offers Ten Hag a player with huge versatility in his positioning, which could be an invaluable asset next season with experience as a second striker, centre forward and in both the left and right wider forward roles too.
With all considered, it is unlikely that a move for Felix would be viable without the sale of at least one big-name player this summer, however, there is no doubt that Felix could develop into an even bigger superstar at Old Trafford and thrive under the guidance of Ten Hag.
And this interest surely spells trouble for Sancho heading into the new campaign.