Aston Villa, Man Utd & Chelsea told asking price for Joao Felix - with one club leading race

Aston Villa are in pole position to sign Portugal superstar Joao Felix in January, according to a remarkable report. The forward, who is also of interest to the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, has been a regular starter for his national team at the FIFA World Cup but is said to be on the chopping block at club level.

Felix has fallen down the pecking order with Atletico Madrid this season, but with one goal and two assists in three starts for Portugal in Qatar, Felix has showcased that he is still a top talent. Things haven’t quite gone to plan for the 23-year-old since he made a huge £113 million transfer in 2019, as he has failed to live up to the almighty expectations placed before him.

He was widely regarded as one of the best young players on the planet and he had just won the Golden Boy award before heading to the Wanda Metropolitano. By no means has Felix been awful, and far from it - but he has been unfortunate to not quite hit the mark at times. Atletico are now hoping to recoup as much of the figure they paid for him as possible.

“Signing [Felix] was the biggest bet the club made in its history,” Atletico’s club chief told TVE, via Marca. “He is a top world-class player, but because of the relationship with the coach, his playing time, his motivation, it’d be reasonable to analyse an option for him to depart. It’s reasonable to think that he might leave, although I’d love him to stay. But that’s not the player’s plan.”

The report states that if Felix does move on, then ‘Villa are believed to be favourites to sign him’, even despite links with plenty of bigger clubs. It is said the pull of head coach Unai Emery is a factor, and it would likely be attractive for the player to become the star man at Villa Park. The forward would come at a. cost, though, as Marca reports the forward’s price tag is around £86 million. For now, however, Felix’s mind is elsewhere.

“I’m completely focused on the World Cup,” Felix said via Fabrizio Romano. “My agent doesn’t tell me anything about what’s going to happen, nor does he want to. I need to be focused on the now to play a great tournament.” After helping Portugal blitz Switzerland 6-1 in the Round of 16, Felix and his international teammates will take on Morocco in the Quarter Final on Saturday, December 10.