Premier League Rules Confirm Joao Felix Can be Named in Arsenal Squad if £5m Deal is Completed
Joao Felix to Arsenal is another transfer rumour that is gathering momentum with each passing day.
Reports of the Gunners’ interest in the Atletico Madrid forward first emerged in the wake of Gabriel Jesus’ injury blow with the £45million summer signing from Manchester City possibly out of action until February, although he is making good progress in his recovery judging by the social media updates.
Whilst football.london have previously reported that a wide player is the priority area that Arsenal are exploring this month having seen two bids for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk rejected, suggestions that an additional forward could be signed to ease the burden on Eddie Nketiah refuse to go away.
That is the perfect segue for the talk of a January move for Joao Felix as it has been widely claimed the 23-year-old could be on the move this month having struggled to make a significant impact at Atletico Madrid since his £113million transfer from Benfica in the summer of 2019.
Said to be battling Premier League rivals Manchester United for the Portugal international’s signature, the Gunners appear to be in pole position amid the BBC’s report that the Red Devils have made an approach to Burnley with regard to signing striker Wout Weghorst on loan for the remainder of the season.
Although whilst this is potentially a boost for Mikel Arteta’s side, it’s worth noting that the current financial demands to seal a deal for Felix – a £9.5million loan fee and a commitment to buy for £70.5million at the end of the season – are currently too high, with CBS Sports claiming the Gunners ideally want an option to buy rather than an obligation set below £70million and a loan fee around £5million.
Should Arsenal reach an agreement with Atletico Madrid and end up signing the talented forward on loan before deadline day which falls at the end of the month, then Arteta and sporting director Edu’s busy work from the summer window will ensure any squad registration issues are avoided.
After the January transfer window closes, the north London outfit will be permitted to name an updated 25-man squad for the Premier League, from which no more than 17 overseas players can be named, with the remaining eight places available to homegrown members of the squad.
To be considered home-grown, players need to have been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Welsh FA for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
The Arsenal players listed as home-grown are Benjamin White, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding, Aaron Ramsdale, Matt Smith and Reiss Nelson but Karl Hein, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Marquinhos and Gabriel Martinelli aren’t included because they are born after January 1, 2001 which makes them eligible to be registered as Under-21 players.
Meanwhile, Matt Turner, Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and George Lewis make up the 14 overseas Arsenal players named in the Premier League squad list.
This means the Gunners are under the required limit by three – thanks in part to allowing Alexandre Lacazette, Bernd Leno, Alex Runarsson, Pablo Mari, Lucas Torreira and Nicolas Pepe to all depart one way or another in the summer – and would therefore be able to register Joao Felix in their squad should a deal be completed in January.
The post Premier League Rules Confirm Joao Felix Can be Named in Arsenal Squad if £5m Deal is Completed was originally published by Tashan Deniran-Alleyne on Football.London.
