14 - João Félix

[Donatello]

If this Felix from Benfica is supposed to cost close to Dembele, he'll need do show great things at Benfica. Let's see him against a good side in Europa League this season and CL the next season.

His last match was against Porto, and he scored, they play in CL fyi. I know its just a single game, but he delivered.

I don't want to drag this long, your points aren't completely invalid, but Felix isn't that unproven that you think of. Yeah its absurd money, but that's how market has become.

(& I don't think he will cost Dembele money, more like 80M-ish something + 20-30m in bonuses)

 

[Donatello]

Linked to Manchester United and Juventus, not to us.

AFAIK, Juve don't have that much money & UTD already have a lot of LW/CF players.

We aren't heavily linked, but we've been scouting him.

 

[Leo_Messi]

He is an exciting talent but he has much to prove yet. Much more than the likes of De Jong and De Ligt although they are by no means veterans but compared to Félix they are.

The Portuguese league (level of it) is really, really low. Take it from someone who watches at least 1 random (mostly involving Benfica, Porto or Sporting) game each week or at least every 2 weeks due to occasional betting. Marginally better than the Eredivisie which is not worth much to begin with.

Stylistically, I am not sure if he is the right player for us to go for either. He is a mixture of a number 10 (a dying position in football) and a 9. The problem is that his stature is similar to that of Messi (slightly taller). Paying €120 million for him here and now would be absurd. We are not talking about a Mbappé like talent here or a Dembélé like talent.

I would wait at least 1 more season before paying such kind of money. So far he has a few months of football in him. In Portugal only moreover with some appearances in the Europa League against average opponents. Mbappé had an entirely different first season in a better league let alone his CL performances.

I like our neighbors in Portugal and Benfica is "my team" in Portugal but we can't forget the tendency of hyping Portuguese talents in recent years in Portugal or the fact that the media in Portugal (much like in Spain with RM) is dominated by the Benfica narrative. Countless of Benfica players have been hyped in Portugal to untold heights only to fail.
[MENTION=19224]raki[/MENTION] can tell about this in more detail I guess being Portuguese.

Paying that kind of money for Félix (€120 million) I prefer many times over to pay €40-45 million for the likes of Jovic or €50 million (his buyout clause) for Maxi Gómez and spend those €70-80 on other positions. UNLESS he keeps impressing and starts showing the same level for Portugal (national team) and in Europe (CL). Hence why I would wait at least 1 season before going "all retard". No place for him now either.

 

[Luftstalag14]

AFAIK, Juve don't have that much money & UTD already have a lot of LW/CF players.

We aren't heavily linked, but we've been scouting him.

Juventus recently sold about 200m worth of bonds, or got a loan of some sort.

 

[Gaudi]

My problem with him is that he is more a Messi then Suarez and when I compare anyone with Messi they look meeh

 

[jamrock]

He's a bit small ain't it.

 

[khaled_a_d]

Juventus recently sold about 200m worth of bonds, or got a loan of some sort.

1st, he was actually linked to us when he 1st got promoted.
2nd, read somewhere that Juve might have to tighten their belt if they knocked out from AM in CL. iirc in Italy it matters a lot who reaches furthest in CL and Roma has been taking some of Juve usual money this couple of years.
3rd, it seems Juve will go after Icardi. I think he will end up either in Spain or EPL

Big question mark is whether Felix can play alone up front as a striker. Thats not a position he has played so far, but who knows. It adds to the risk.

He is a 2nd striker who can play as AM/LW too if needed. So while you have a valid point we have also to think that we wanted Griezmann to replace Suarez and he is SS striker too.
He is versatile and watching his off the ball movement I think there is very good chance he can make it here as 9. Can also be a Villa/Henry type of player if Messi moved as false 9

He's a bit small ain't it.

same height as Suarez, not very strong yet due to his age

 

[Donatello]

My problem with him is that he is more a Messi then Suarez and when I compare anyone with Messi they look meeh

But you have to be prepared for the GOAT's departure, it is bound to happen. Plus, who better to mentor than Messi himself.

Even if not Felix, we need to start looking out for one, or else we will be fleeced once again because of desperation when he leaves/steps down.

 

[Leo_Messi]

[MENTION=19224]raki[/MENTION] I missed the Porto-Benfica game yesterday for obvious reasons although I suspected Benfica would win given their superior form lately. In any case how did Félix do? How highly would you rate him so far a few months into his senior career? I know that the transfer market is insane but I just don't see him warrant that €120 million transfer fee yet. I would preferably give him another season at Benfica and see how he performs over an entire season and most importantly in the CL. Likewise for the national team.

 

[raki]

[MENTION=19224]raki[/MENTION] I missed the Porto-Benfica game yesterday for obvious reasons although I suspected Benfica would win given their superior form lately. In any case how did Félix do? How highly would you rate him so far a few months into his senior career? I know that the transfer market is insane but I just don't see him warrant that €120 million transfer fee yet. I would preferably give him another season at Benfica and see how he performs over an entire season and most importantly in the CL. Likewise for the national team.

The kid is great but thr hype machine is on full steam .lol

PT media already saying he will be better than Messi. looooooooooooool

He scored a goal but he didnt do that much. Still too soon to fathom his real capacity outside a weak context like PT league.

 

[Leo_Messi]

The kid is great but thr hype machine is on full steam .lol

PT media already saying he will be better than Messi. looooooooooooool

He scored a goal but he didnt do that much. Still too soon to fathom his real capacity outside a weak context like PT league.

Yes, just like I wrote. Pro-Benfica media in particular. It is beyond ridiculous and people are buying the hype.

Paying €120 million for him a few weeks into his senior career would be insane. In particular when he has shown nothing outside of the domestic league context (a very bad context as we both know level wise) for one of the 2 top dogs. ¡Con calma, por favor!

 

[FC433]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira: "We will only sell academy graduates if a club pays their release clause."<br><br>Rúben Dias<br>João Félix<br>Gedson Fernandes<br>Ferro<br>Florentino<br>Jota<br>Tiago Dantas<br>Úmaro Embaló<br>Ronaldo Camará<br>Tomás Tavares<br>Jair Tavares<br><br>That's A LOT of money. <a href="https://t.co/ZLnKW0B6vf">pic.twitter.com/ZLnKW0B6vf</a></p>— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) <a href="https://twitter.com/FTalentScout/status/1102671306884026368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Leo_Messi]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira: "We will only sell academy graduates if a club pays their release clause."<br><br>Rúben Dias<br>João Félix<br>Gedson Fernandes<br>Ferro<br>Florentino<br>Jota<br>Tiago Dantas<br>Úmaro Embaló<br>Ronaldo Camará<br>Tomás Tavares<br>Jair Tavares<br><br>That's A LOT of money. �� <a href="https://t.co/ZLnKW0B6vf">pic.twitter.com/ZLnKW0B6vf</a></p>— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) <a href="https://twitter.com/FTalentScout/status/1102671306884026368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A friendly advice. Don't take everything that presidents in Southern Europe (mainly Spain, Italy and Portugal) are saying. 80% of those players will be sold for far less than their buyout clauses should Benfica receive decent offers. Like has been the case for years. Since forever practically.

 

[FC433]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOSSIP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GOSSIP</a> ️ <a href="https://twitter.com/xavicampos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xavicampos</a>:<br><br> "El Barça està seguint molt de prop João Félix, davanter portuguès del Benfica, de 19 anys"<br><br> "Des del gener ha fet 9 gols en 16 partits i ho ha jugat pràcticament tot. El club té previst anar-lo a veure en directe"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClubMitjanit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClubMitjanit</a> <a href="https://t.co/ORlkY4L8ts">pic.twitter.com/ORlkY4L8ts</a></p>— Club de la Mitjanit (@ClubMitjanit) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClubMitjanit/status/1102710662248259584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


says FCB is following him closely.

 

[Luftstalag14]

According to AS, Juventus is ready to pay the 120m buyout for Joao Felix. Their sporting director, Fabio Paratici met with Benfica's president Luis Felipe Vieira in Turin last week with Jorge Mendes present at the meeting.

https://as.com/futbol/2019/03/04/internacional/1551728917_034380.html

I also read that Benfica insists that Joao Felix would not be sold less than his buyout, so I am guessing there is definitely some meat to this story. Perhaps Juventus sold the 200m bonds to amass funds to buy him?