Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed Premier League outfit Aston Villa is interested in signing Barcelona target Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. Romano believes Villa is interested despite knowing it will have to pay a hefty fee to sign the Portuguese attacker.
The most expensive transfer in Atletico Madrid history, Felix joined the club for a whopping €127.2 million ($139.27 million) fee in the summer of 2019. The second striker had a sub-par first season in Spain, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in 36 games across competitions. The following two seasons saw him score a total of 20 goals in 75 appearances, which was far from what Diego Simeone was expecting. There were also reports of internal turbulence, which caused him to become an afterthought, leading to loan spells away at Chelsea (short loan in 2022-23) and Barcelona.
As per reports, the Blaugrana were delighted with his performances in the 2023-24 season. However, since there was no purchase clause in his contract, Barca decided against trying to sign Felix from a league rival. After the 2024 European Championship, Barcelona has changed its priorities and is currently looking to sign Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig.
With Barcelona tangled up in other things, Premier League up-and-comer Aston Villa has entered the race and is likely to face very little competition if it chooses to negotiate for him in the coming days.
Fabrizio Romano Says Aston Villa Is In A Good Position To Land Barcelona Target
Shedding light on the Felix saga, Romano said (via GiveMeSport):
“I don’t see Joao Felix staying at Atletico Madrid beyond this month. Aston Villa remain interested in the player, and I’ve never ruled them out of the race as Unai Emery is a big fan.
“It’s an expensive deal and not easy, but Aston Villa are still interested. Benfica have publicly stated that he’s way too expensive for them, so that’s them ruled out.”
He concluded by adding:
“Barcelona’s focus right now is on signing Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig. There has been no contact with Joao Felix recently, but it’s not clear what could happen in the coming weeks.”
Felix, who has 34 goals in 131 games for Atletico so far, sees his contract expire in June 2029.
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