Aston Villa gain Joao Felix boost as Man City and Chelsea domino effect gains pace

Aston Villa are growing increasingly confident of completing the signing of Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix this summer.

Unai Emery is a huge admirer of the Portugal international, who has been the ‘dream’ transfer target throughout the transfer window so far. Talks have been underway for several weeks over a potential deal and Villa have been patient, waiting for the asking price to drop.

Transfer activity from Premier League rivals Manchester City and Chelsea appears to have boosted Villa’s chances. Pep Guardiola’s side have agreed to sell Argentine superstar Julian Alvarez to Atletico for £64 million plus £18 million in add-ons, while Chelsea are close to acquiring the services of Atletico striker Samu Omorodion with Conor Gallagher heading in the other direction.

Alvarez’s move means Atletico have a natural replacement for Felix, whereas the Omorodion and Gallagher deals cancel eachother out financially. Recouping some of the funds spent on Alvarez is a necessity for Atletico, so Villa know they could tempt with a bid below the £51.5 million being demanded.

Spanish journalist Hector Gomez has provided an update on the situation, reporting Villa are planning to make an offer once Jhon Duran has been sold. Talks are ongoing for the Colombian to move to Saudi Arabia after West Ham United pulled the plug on their swoop.

Villa are also waiting to receive the green light from Felix himself but once they do talks are likely to advance with Atletico. It’s claimed the Villans believe a bid of €40 million (£34.3 million) should be enough to sign Felix but Atletico are holding out for closer to €60 million.

Given the other Atletico deals are already firmly in motion and set to be completed, an agreement should theoretically be reached somewhere between those figures.