Aston Villa prefer a loan deal for Atletico Madrid outcast Joao Felix and are unwilling to meet the £50-60 million asking price.
According to a report from 90min, Aston Villa are keen on signing Joao Felix ahead of next season as they look to reinforce their attack. With Moussa Diaby’s departure, they need more firepower on the flanks, and Unai Emery seems to be in favour of signing Felix. While Villa are interested, they seem to prefer signing him on an initial loan move.
Joao Felix’s failed Atletico Madrid move
Felix made a name for himself at Benfica before making a £111 million move to Atletico Madrid in 2019. While he did have a decent start to life at Atletico Madrid, the Portuguese international has failed to reach the expected heights. He has been out on loan for the past 18 months after falling out with manager Diego Simeone.
While Felix still has five years left on his deal with Atletico Madrid, they are keen on sanctioning his departure as they look to recoup a part of what they had invested in him. He had an impressive loan spell at Barcelona last season, and the Catalan giants are surely interested in re-signing him.
Felix would love to re-join the Spanish giants and personal terms won’t be a problem. But, they cannot possibly afford him at this stage with all their efforts going towards the signing of Nico Williams. While Barcelona seem to have taken a back seat, there is a new front-runner in Aston Villa.
Emery wants Felix to replace Moussa Diaby
Unai Emery is the man behind Villa’s interest in the 24-year-old Portuguese attacker. He openly talked about signing him last year. While he seemed unattainable back then, Villa are in a much better financial situation as of now.
They recently raised £50 million from the sale of Moussa Diaby to Al-Ittihad. While he was an important part of their first team, the money raised will not help them further bolster their ranks. With the club ready to compete in the Champions League, they are willing to make an extra financial effort to sign the best possible replacement.
Emery feels things could click for Felix under his guidance in the Premier League as he is willing to play him in his preferred number ten role just behind Ollie Watkins, something he has not done for a long while having been used out wide on the left on majority of the occasions.
While he is keen on his signature and Aston Villa can meet the £50-60 million asking price, they are hesitant to fork out that big a fee. Emery’s team prefer a loan move with an option or obligation depending on the final fee.
Both clubs are still in the initial stage of negotiations, nothing has advanced as of yet as Villa just want to understand the dynamics of a potential transfer and check on whether Atletico Madrid are willing to lower their £50-60 million demands.
