Joao Felix had a lacklustre loan spell at Chelsea but he could be heading back to the Premier League again in a shock transfer rumour.
What Premier League team will Felix go to?
Aston Villa has been linked with Portuguese international Felix, a transfer that could reach a valuation of £50 million. Nevertheless, Felix is under contract in Spain for another five years, earning over £250,000 per week—a salary that Villa are unable to match.
The club is willing to propose a compensation package, inclusive of bonuses, amounting to £150,000 per week for Felix, which would position him as the highest-paid player at Villa Park.
Both Benfica and Barcelona have expressed interest in securing Felix’s services, albeit through loan agreements. The 24-year-old has previously played for both clubs. It’s likely that Atletico Madrid will sell Felix rather than loan him out again.
Aston Villa are seeking to enhance their squad depth following their qualification for the Champions League last season. The team has parted ways with several key players during the transfer window, including Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
Despite this, Aston Villa has made significant investments in new players, welcoming Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Cameron Archer, Jaden Philogene, Samuel Iling-Junior, Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea, and Ross Barkley.
Felix would contribute valuable experience and attacking creativity to the team.
Can Felix meet his potential at Aston Villa?
No club has been able to get the best out of him but he’d be a dream signing for Unai Emery. Emery stated back in 2023 that Felix was a ‘special’ player after Chelsea beat Aston Villa to sign him on loan.
Emery said: “He’s a special player. It was not totally impossible for us (to sign him), but he wanted to play for a team in the Champions League.
“We are realistic about how we can improve and how we can add players to improve our squad. He has a high salary and Chelsea paid a lot of money for that. I like him, but we were never really in the running for him.
“He can assist, score goals, drop deep to build up and he can play in the small spaces and drive into the box. He’s special.
“Our idea is to reduce the distance between them (a club such as Chelsea) and to get closer to them in one, two or three years. Spending money like they did? No! But trying to be consistent and get there another way in our work.”
Now that Aston Villa are in the Champions League, a move to Villa Park may seem more appetising for Felix and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Emery get the best out of him after his Aston Villa side stunned the Premier League to secure a top four spot last season.
Felix stats
Since an incredible start to his career at Benfica, Felix has struggled to play outside of his home nation. He consistently manages to get 10 goals a season in all competitions but that isn’t good enough for the price that Atletico Madrid paid for him.
Felix was seen as one of the most exciting young talents in the world after he made the move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid in 2019. At the time, that transfer marked the fifth most expensive in the history of football as Atletico Madrid had to break the bank to get Felix, setting them back £113m.
It hasn’t worked out for Felix at the Metropolitano and has had two loan spells to Chelsea and Barcelona since his big money move.
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