Aston Villa are reportedly ‘very well positioned’ to sign Atletico Madrid playmaker Joao Felix.
The 23-year-old is currently on World Cup duty with Portugal in Qatar, but that hasn’t stopped speculation from surfacing over his club future.
According to Marca, Villa are the latest club to enter the race to sign him, and have positioned themselves amongst the best placed teams to complete a potential swoop.
READ MORE: Double boost for Villa as duo make Dubai trip
Further, it’s added that his agent, Jorge Mendes, is keen for the talented star to make the move to the Premier League, and Villa are seemingly now ready to pounce if he is to leave the Spanish giants next year with negotiations between the two clubs said to already be underway.
Meanwhile, Marca have also reported on comments from Atlético CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marín, who has noted: “I think he has the highest level in the world but because of the relationship with the coach, the minutes played, his motivation, it’s reasonable to analyse if there is any exit option.
“The reasonable thing to do is to think that he could come out. Although I would love for him to continue, but this is not the player’s idea.”
Felix has scored 33 goals and provided 18 assists in 129 appearances since joining Atleti, while he contributed 20 goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances at senior level for Benfica prior to his move to Spain having come through the youth ranks with the Portuguese giants.
Additionally, he’s scored four goals in 27 caps for Portugal, and although he hasn’t hit the heights expected and hoped of him during his time with Atleti, there is no doubt that there is a highly talented young player there who has a big role to play at club and international level in the coming years.
It would be some coup if Villa were to sign him as the expectation is that many clubs around Europe will monitor his situation if he is to leave the Wanda Metropolitano either in January or next summer, and so it will likely still be a challenge to convince the player even if we do reach an agreement with his club.
Unai Emery will no doubt get the opportunity to stamp his mark on the group and will be backed to bring in new players, and so time will tell if it’s Felix who becomes one of his early marquee signings.
Should a move materialise, it would add more creativity, technical quality and goals in the final third to perhaps complement the pace and movement of the likes of Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins. However, it would also perhaps mean more competition for Emiliano Buendia and Philippe Coutinho, so it will be interesting to see what Emery’s plans are moving forward.