Atletico Madrid are planning a raid for Benfica's teenage wonderkid Joao Felix as they prepare themselves to lose Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona .
Griezmann looks set to finally complete his £108m move after five seasons at Atletico, and Barcelona are prepared to pay the eye-watering fee for a player they have courted for the last few years.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone wants to spend the money they receive for that transfer straight away by going head-to-head with Manchester City for Felix.
The Portuguese forward has only been playing senior football for one year but was so impressive in the Primeira Liga last season that a whole host of elite clubs have been linked with him this summer.
He scored 15 goals in 26 league appearance for Benfica, helping them win the title and edge past rivals FC Porto.
Felix also made his first senior appearance for the national side this month, starting for Portugal in their 3-1 Nations League semi-final win over Switzlerland.
Although Manchester United and Real Madrid have expressed an interest, Man City were the team thought to be his most likely destination until Atletico stepped into the equation.
It is thought the promise of first-team football by Simeone could tempt Felix to the Spanish capital, something which Man City manager Pep Guardiola would be unable to offer immediately for the teenager.
Felix is believed to have a release clause of £105m, so after the sale of Griezmann he should be affordable for Atletico.
Griezmann will certainly be a hard man to replace at the Wanda Metropolitano. He has been one of the key figures in the Simeone era, and has scored over 15 La Liga goals in every season he has been there.
He has long-maintained that Barcelona would be a dream move, however, and it looks as though the transfer is all but certain to go through over the coming weeks.
