Arsenal have reportedly joined the race for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix.

The Portugal international is free to leave Diego Simeone's side during the January transfer window, with Manchester United believed to be in pole position to sign him at the start of 2023.

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have also been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old, who moved to Atletico from Benfica in July 2019, with the Red and Whites paying around £113m for his signature.

Felix has largely struggled to make his mark at Atletico, only managing 33 goals and 18 assists in 129 appearances for the capital giants, including four goals and three assists in 18 matches this term.

Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin recently hinted that the club would be willing to let the Portuguese leave when the winter market opens for business.

[Joao Felix] is the biggest bet this club has taken in its history. I personally think he's a top talent, a world-class player," Gil Marin told TVE last month.

"For reasons it isn't worth getting into – the relationship between him and the boss (Simeone), the minutes played, his motivation right now – it makes you think that the reasonable thing is that if there's an option that's good for the player, good for the club, we can look at it.

"I'd love him to stay personally, but I don't think that's the player's idea."

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Felix's agent Jorge Mendes is currently in discussions with a number of clubs, but Atletico want a fee in excess of €100m (£85.9m) for the attacker.

According to AS, Felix's main suitors are currently Man United and PSG, but Arsenal are also ready to explore the possibility of signing the Portuguese in the January market.

The Gunners are ready to look at their options next month after it was confirmed that Gabriel Jesus would need to undergo surgery to address the knee injury that he picked up at the World Cup.

"When we know the timescale better and we know when we can have him back we will look at the options and try to make the right decisions," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta recently told reporters when asked whether the club would sign a replacement for the Brazil international.

"I feel my squad is really good, and unfortunately we've had injuries, but we will see what we can do to be stronger.

"We look at the squad and see what the options we have with the players we have available. There are things we can try, we have the need to do so."

Arsenal are set to take on AC Milan and Juventus in two more mid-season friendlies before returning to competitive action against West Ham United in the Premier League on December 26. body check tags ::