Benfica boost for Aston Villa in race for La Liga star as Liverpool urged to move for Wolves defender

Aston Villa have been handed a boost in their attempts to land an ambitious deal for Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix.

Unai Emery has already been active in the transfer market this summer as he prepares to take the club into the Champions League during the coming season. Midfielder trio Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea and Amadou Onana have been brought in at a total cost of around £60m and they were joined by wingers Jaden Philogene, Samuel Ilang-Junior and Lewis Dobbin. Forward Cameron Archer returned to Villa Park following Sheffield United’s relegation into the Championship and Emery secured a £38m deal for Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen after he returned from a successful loan spell with Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund.

However, Emery reportedly remains keen to boost his attacking ranks and is said to have shown an interest in offering Portugal star Felix a second chance to impress in the Premier League after he endured an underwhelming loan spell at Chelsea during the 2022/23 season. The Atleti forward spent a similar loan stint with Barcelona last season and is believed to be available for a permanent move during the summer transfer window. Felix’s former club Benfica were named as a possible suitor for the forward and were said to be Villa’s main competitors in the race for his signature - but president Rui Costa has revealed a deal to take Felix back to his first club is highly unlikely.

He said: "I'm not going to speculate any further about this situation. I wouldn't say it's a closed case, because if I had the possibility of making him come home I would. Just as I couldn't keep Joao Neves, because we're talking about a transfer of €70m, but I'm also not in a position to pay what João Félix still costs today. Benfica's transfer market isn't closed. There will be transfers and inflows until the end of the market. We still have a month. The market has been very quiet up until now, which is why the transfers are happening now. The squad is being built in a consistent, balanced and stronger way."

Former Liverpool star urges move for Wolves star

Don Hutchison has suggested Liverpool should make a move for a current member of the Wolves squad - but it is not reported Reds target Pedro Neto.

The Anfield club are believed to be one of a number of suitors for the ten-times capped Portugal international - although Neto has suggested he wishes to remain at Molineux and wants to take Wolves ‘to another level’. However, former Liverpool and Scotland star Hutchison has suggested his former club should raid Wolves for left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and described the Algerian star as ‘a brilliant young player’.

He told ESPNFC:  “I’ll tell you who I would sign for Liverpool – I’ve been championing this for the last two years – is Rayan Ait-Nouri, the left-back at Wolves. If Andy Robertson is struggling for injuries, he could compete for that left-back berth. I think he’s a brilliant young player and I think that’s what they need. They’ve got good players across the back, but they need a little bit of cover.”