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Aston Villa handed transfer boost in Joao Felix pursuit as PSG pull out of race
Aston Villa have been provided a boost in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix after Paris Saint-Germain were said to have pulled out of the race, according to BirminghamLive.
The news outlet reported on 16 July that the Portuguese forward’s agent Jorge Mendes had offered him to the French champions, but that The Parisians turned down the opportunity.
The 23-year-old, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Chelsea, has been made available for another temporary move by Atletico boss Diego Simeone, with the Villa target having four years left on his contract after signing for the club in 2019 for a whopping £113million.
Star quality
This isn’t the first time Villa have made a move for Felix after the club tried to tempt him into making a loan move to Birmingham back in January when he instead headed to Stamford Bridge, where he scored four goals in 16 appearances.
But Unai Emery admitted a major stumbling was that the forward wanted to play Champions League football – something that appears to still be a potential issue now.
Another problem could be the hefty loan fee Atletico are reportedly seeking for one of their most prized assets, with the La Liga outfit wanting a fee in the region of £10million for the season.
That is why there aren’t too many clubs chomping at the bit to sign him for the upcoming campaign, given that they may be able to find more value in players elsewhere.
But one thing Felix would certainly bring to Villa is the kind of star quality that they don’t currently have and, if they can manage to pull off a major coup and bring him to Villa Park, that would only add to the positive feeling building around the club.
In other Aston Villa news, the Villans have been told to sign a Barcelona star.