Manchester City are ‘best placed’ to sign Benfica starlet Joao Felix but Barcelona are still in the race, according to a report in Diario Sport.
Felix, 19, has risen to prominence for the Lisbon-based giants this season and netted 20 goals for the club, who won the Portuguese top-flight.
The report cites Portuguese journalist Rui Pedro Braz, speaking on TVi24, that the English champions are best placed to sign the teenager but the Blaugrana remain hopeful on their chase.
The player’s contract at the Lisbon-based giants contains a €120m release clause on a contract through until 2023 although previous reports have claimed Benfica are trying to move this up to €200m with a new deal.
Felix has netted in two Lisbon derbies against Sporting CP this season and also scored against FC Porto in a key title clash in January.
That has led to the attack-minded midfielder being labelled as ‘the next Cristiano Ronaldo’ while Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United have also scouted the player.
The player is said to be versatile and can operate in a number of attacking positions, while he starred in the UEFA Youth League semi-finals in 2016-17 against Real Madrid.
