Aston Villa to be offered chance to sign Joao Felix as PSG agree Asensio deal

Aston Villa will be offered the chance to sign Joao Felix for a second time this summer by super-agent Jorge Mendes after Mauricio Pochettino opted against a permanent transfer following his appointment at Stamford Bridge. The 23-year-old Portuguese attacker has returned to parent club Atletico Madrid following the completion of the Premier League season but his future at the Wanda Metropolitano remains in doubt due to the deterioration of his relationship with Diego Simeone.

Villa had made a play to sign Real Madrid attacking midfielder Marco Asensio on a free transfer after the Spaniard decided to run down his contract at the Bernabeu but the 27-year-old has now agreed terms to join Paris Saint-Germain on a long-term contract.

Mendes was central to the completion of the deal and as a consolation, he is expected to offer Villa – and several other Premier League clubs – the chance to land Felix this summer either on a loan or permanent basis as Unai Emery targets attacking reinforcements.

Atletico president Enrique Cerezo revealed on Tuesday afternoon that the La Liga club did not have any immediate plans for Felix, hinting they were counting on Chelsea to pursue a permanent transfer for their £113million club-record signing.

Cerezo said: “We have been informed that Poch does not count with Joao Felix for Chelsea. We’ve known for less than 24 hours. He’ll come and we’ll see what happens… we don’t have anything planned.”

Last December, Villa were approached by Mendes alongside Chelsea over a possible January move for Felix while Manchester United and Arsenal also held discussions over the terms of the deal.

Yet none of those clubs besides Chelsea were prepared to match the staggering numbers involved in the eventual agreement that was reached with Atletico.

The big-spending Blues are understood to have paid their Spanish counterparts a loan fee of £9.5m while also agreeing to cover Felix’s entire £270,000-a-week salary during his underwhelming six-month spell in west London.

Atletico are thought to be open to sanctioning another loan for Felix this summer, although they would understandably favour a permanent sale to significantly bolster their transfer funds.

Felix mustered just four Premier League goals in 16 top-flight outings for the Blues and was sent off on his debut in the 2-1 west London derby defeat at Fulham following a high lunge on Kenny Tete.

Intriguingly, Emery publicly confessed his admiration for Felix ahead of his side’s 2-0 win at Chelsea in April and also declared he wants to ensure his side are able to sign players of his calibre in the future.

“He’s a special player and was not totally impossible for us, but he wanted to play for a team in the Champions League,” Emery declared.

“We are realistic about how we can improve and how we can add players to improve our squad.

“He has a high salary and Chelsea paid a lot of money for that. I like him but we were never really in the running for him.”

Felix is understood to have made it clear ahead of the January transfer window that he wanted to prioritise Champions League football.

Villa boss Emery has been finalising summer transfer plans with sporting director Johan Lange and the rest of the club’s hierarchy after securing Europa Conference League football on the final day of the season with victory over Brighton.

Leicester winger Harvey Barnes and Villarreal central defender Pau Torres are believed to feature on Villa’s summer shortlist, as does Tottenham attacking midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who played under Emery at both Paris Saint-Germain and Villarreal.