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Joao Felix, the Portuguese sensation has set the world ablaze with his tremendous performances, and the hype is real, but his profile might not be exactly what Barcelona are looking for.
Considered by many to be the future of Portuguese football after Cristiano Ronaldo, the hype he is getting is absolutely deserved.
But he is not an out-and-out striker and plays more of a floating support striker role. He is the complete package, with a great eye for passes, good variety of finishes, good pace, and commendable decision making. He is absolutely devastating when running at defenders, and has an immaculate ability to twist and turn to find spaces in the final third.
He has notched up 10 goals and 5 assists in the Primeira Liga, and his hat-trick last time out against Eintracht Frankfurt has drawn a lot of attention.
However, Barcelona has already spent in excess of €100 million for a player of a similar profile in Dembele. And just like how Dembele can't be called a Suarez replacement, neither can this young star.
Barcelona needs a poacher, someone that sees the ball, shoots the ball and then celebrates the goal. Of course, it's necessary to have a good ability to pass the ball, but what's important is that he should be able to collect and score, even if he doesn't have much support available.
Most SS type players are advanced attacking midfielders with good shooting ability, thereby they drop back more often than not.
The second reason why Barcelona shouldn't pursue him is the sheer cost. He had the scouts of almost every top European club drooling during the game against Eintracht, and there will certainly be extremely high demand for him. He won't come for anything less than €80 million, and most probably will go for an excess of €100 million.
That's not exactly the price Barcelona are looking for, especially with the stadium renovation on the cards. They have to sort out their LB crisis, decide about De Ligt, and many more, so anything in excess of €70 million is improbable.
Joao Felix is definitely insanely talented, and it will be difficult for Benfica to hold on to him past the summer, but Barcelona is not the ideal destination for him.
