Aston Villa think they can sign ‘world-class’ £77m player once they sell Jhon Duran for big money

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Aston Villa are one of the most active clubs this summer but Unai Emery is still hoping to bring in more players for the upcoming season.

Emery has already landed the likes of Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen this summer but with a Champions League campaign to come, he wants more.

For Villa and Emery, adding players who can genuinely improve the first XI and give the squad proper depth.

A key position for Villa to strengthen now is in attack.

Villa are said to be close to selling young striker Jhon Duran for around £40m to West Ham.

And according to Fabrizio Romano, if that deal goes through, then Villa could well make their move to sign Portugal star, Joao Felix.

Aston Villa to go for Joao Felix if Jhon Duran leaves

Speaking for GiveMeSport about Villa’s potential to sign a new striker, Romano has said that the club do hold what he says is a genuine interest in Felix.

“Aston Villa always wanted £40million as the value of the package for Jhon Duran, so the negotiations are ongoing.

“I think this will be important as, if Villa can make this amount of money after Moussa Diaby [sale], they can really try to make the dream happen with Joao Felix,” Romano said.

“It’s still not easy and it’s complicated due to the big fee and salary. The salary especially could be an issue, but the interest [in Felix] is genuine.”

The ‘world-class’ Felix has already had a spell in England with Chelsea and could well fancy proving his point with a move to Villa.

Quite what the asking price for Felix would be, remains to be seen. Atletico have previously looked for around £77m for their striker but given the last few years, that price is likely to have dropped.

Felix, though, is very much available and reports have suggested he is now training alone ahead of moving on.