Aston Villa are considering an ambitious transfer of Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix, The Pitch Prospect has learned.
Villa boss Unai Emery is a long-time admirer of the Portuguese star, who spent last season on loan at Barcelona.
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The club will earn around £60 million as Moussa Diaby, who only signed last summer, is set to join Al Ittihad.
Felix could therefore be the man to replace him in attack, five years after moving from Benfica to Atletico Madrid for £113 million, the fourth most expensive transfer of all time.
This would mark a return to the Premier League for him after spending the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Chelsea.
The 24-year-old scored four goals in 20 appearances in a season that was a forgettable one for the Blues, who finished only 12th in the Premier League.
At Atletico Madrid, Felix scored 34 goals and provided 18 assists in 131 appearances and won the 2021 LaLiga with them.
Last season he was successful at FC Barcelona, scoring ten goals and providing six assists.
However, he could leave Spain permanently this summer and join a Villa team that is already active on the market.
Felix could be their eighth signing of the transfer window, which has already seen them welcome left-back Ian Maatsen from Chelsea.
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Cameron Archer, Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea, Lewis Dobbin and Ross Barkley have also completed their moves to Villa Park.
Jaden Philogene joined last week as their latest signing after a year on loan at Hull City. The club will pocket £13.5million after Villa inserted a 30 per cent sell-on clause into his contract last summer.
Villa’s spending was reduced by the departure of Douglas Luiz to Juventus in a deal estimated at £42m, while Iling-Junior and Barrenechea went the other way.
Tim Iroegbunam, Morgan Sanson and Viljami Sinisalo have also left the club permanently; Calum Chambers moved to Cardiff.