Spanish sources share key update on Aston Villa’s chances of winning Joao Felix race

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After all of the impressive spending at Aston Villa this summer, adding Joao Felix to Unai Emery’s squad would be the cherry on top of the cake.

24-year-old Felix is a mercurial talent, one who hasn’t quite fulfilled the rich potential many expected by this point of his career. 

But if they sell Jhon Duran, Villa believe they can buy Felix, who was recently forced to train alone after returning to Atletico Madrid from his Barcelona loan. 

However, having now been reintegrated into the first-team squad under Diego Simeone, Felix scored in Atletico’s recent 3-1 friendly win over Getafe – perhaps strengthening the idea that he could stay.

After his big-money move in 2019 from Benfica, Felix reportedly still has a contract with the Spanish side until 2029, a deal that was extended last year.

And that explains why Atletico won’t be willing sanction an exit at a cut-price.

However, according to Spanish outlet Sport, Felix could still be destined for a move to the Premier League – and significantly, Villa are considered the most realistic option right now.

Aston Villa believe Atletico Madrid need to sell Joao Felix in coming weeks

According to the report, Felix’s agent Jorge Mendes is continuing to search for a solution to take Felix to Villa, with the striker keen on a move to the Premier League.

Simeone is said to be keen to get Felix ‘out of the dressing room’ at Atlei, signalling that a move still seems likely.

READ MORE: Paul Scholes says he has a ‘big worry’ about what could happen at Aston Villa this season

And according to the report, Villa believe that Atletico now need money more than ever following their significant outlay on Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez.

However, Villa are still thought to be far away from Atletico’s price, which the report suggests is around €50m (£43m).

Emery is said to be preparing ‘one final assault’ for Felix, and Villa want to be informed of a ‘reasonable’ figure for the transfer after Atletico’s Alvarez deal is concluded – otherwise they will walk away.

Evidently it’s still a very complicated scenario, depending on the individual futures of Alvarez and Duran, who could both need to finalise moves before Felix ever arrived at Villa Park.

In other news, one player has now claimed that he didn’t find it difficult to leave Villa when he departed the club this summer.