Forward who Unai Emery called 'special' could seal transfer after Aston Villa links
Aston Villa spent a portion of the summer transfer window exploring whether they'd be able to lure Portuguese international Joao Felix to the club - only for the forward to make for the Premier League in order to join Chelsea, instead.
Felix has been well liked by Unai Emery for some time. The Villa boss spoke last year of the prospect of Felix signing, when he said: “He’s a special player and 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.”
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Felix was first linked with a move in the January 2023 transfer window when it became clear he had no future at Atletico Madrid, but he joined Chelsea on loan in that window. In the summer, with Villa now a fully fledged Champions League team in their own right, Felix was linked again. Again, he moved to Chelsea.
Minutes on a regular basis have been hard to come by, though, for the playmaker. Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto are just some of the names that Felix is having to compete with for a place in Enzo Maresca's starting XI, but he has made only nine starts this term, and three in the Premier League alone.
AC Milan have emerged as a side who could come forwards and offer Felix a way out of Stamford Bridge on a loan basis this month; the Serie A side are reportedly set to give up on trying to bring Marcus Rashford to the club and are considering alternatives, Felix and Chelsea teammate Christopher Nkunku among them.
Villa, of course, sold Moussa Diaby for more than £50m in the summer and signed Jaden Philogene, who has since left the club for a second time on a permanent basis when joining Ipswich Town. Villa have, though, brought in Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund. Felix, it appears, could be a player who is liked by the Villa hierarchy but for who a move never materialises.
