Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Joao Felix and now a new update has emerged on the club’s pursuit of the player ahead of the January transfer window.
What’s the latest?
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Atletico Madrid star’s agent Jorge Mendes is pushing for a move to Aston Villa.
As per the report, Mendes has a strong relationship with Villa’s ownership after completing the club’s appointment of his client Unai Emery and now a deal could be done to sign Felix.
It’d be a huge coup
There is no doubt that the signing of Felix would be a seismic coup for Aston Villa, given his talents and immense value of £86m, so would be a huge statement for Emery going into his first transfer window at Villa Park.
The Villans are currently 12th in the Premier League after an improvement of form over their last two league games ahead of the World Cup break beating both Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion in the new manager’s first outings in charge.
Emery will surely want to make his own mark on his new team to improve their performances and add players who fit his philosophy over the second half of the season.
As a result, if Emery could acquire the services of Felix in the new year it could be a great opportunity to strengthen the attacking threat and encourage more goal contributions in the forward line.
The Portuguese ace – who was hailed an “elite talent” by La Liga sports writer Andy West – ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers over the top five European leagues for assists and interceptions, as well as ranking in the top 15% for dribbles completed and progressive passes.
Not only that, Felix has been representing his country at the World Cup in Qatar, helping Portugal progress to the quarter-finals with his outstanding performances in the attacking prowess of the team.
Over four appearances, the Atletico star scored one goal, registered two assists and created one big chance, as well as averaging one tackle, 2.8 shots on goal and winning 4.3 duels per game.
Felix is being pursued by a number of clubs including Manchester United, Newcastle United and Chelsea who will all hold further talks with Mendes alongside Aston Villa according to reports.
With that being said, the powers at Villa Park will need to come up with a tempting offer to make sure they can secure Felix’s signature over their competitors.
