Manchester City Opinion: Joao Felix signing would be a game-changer
According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, Premier League giants Manchester City and Manchester United are said to be keen on the signature of young Portuguese sensation Joao Felix. The Benfica forward star has been in the limelight for quite a while now and for all the right reasons as well.
The way he has managed to keep himself grounded amid all the noise has been quite impressive and his performances for the Benfica side in the Portuguese league as well as the Europa League were absolutely sublime. He showed glimpses of Cristiano Ronaldo in his forward play and his finishing only seems to be even better than Ronaldo’s was at this age.
Born in 1999 and still only 19, Felix has become a worldwide celebrity because of his amazing skills on the pitch. He is one of the best dribblers to ever grace the footballing work and the amount of room for improvement he has should scare any of the sides that he’s up against in the near future. His movement while attacking can be unreadable at times but he shows excellent maturity to keep calm when things aren’t going his way.
His displays in the league can only be described as inspired at times as he’s singlehandedly won them multiple matches over the course of the campaign. His numbers tell quite story about the kind of involvement he has in his team’s attacking play. Having played 26 league games this season, the teenager has managed to score 15 goals and set up a further 9. His efforts have been vital as Benfica had a fairly impressive run in the Europa League as well.
Formerly of Porto, he made the controversial switch to Benfica in the summer of 2015 and has since become a key member of the side. He did have to work his way up the ranks at Benfica too though but he did that with relative ease. His attacking capabilities made him an easy pick for the manager and even at such a young age, he was able to deliver on even the biggest stages.
Originally a centre-forward, Felix operates generally as an attacking-midfielder or a second striker. He is generally deployed just in behind the main centre-forward and used his amazing dribbling skills to tear defences apart from the middle. His pace and acceleration on the ball can be intimidating for any defender and approaching him to try and tackle can be a daunting task indeed.
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While he would be a good fit at Old Trafford, a move to the Etihad does seem to make more sense for the youngster at this point in time. Added to the fact that United will have to be satisfied with Europa League football next season gives City an edge in this matter. Working under Pep Guardiola will be enough inspiration for most players and it doesn’t look like this deal is going to be any different.