Joao Felix
Joao Felix (Image: AC Milan via Getty Images)
The transfer business of both Aston Villa and Chelsea in recent windows have rather intertwined at various stages - and they could yet again this coming summer.
Villa signed Dutch international and left back Ian Maatsen from the Blues last summer, while teenager Omari Kellyman headed in the opposite direction. In January, Villa returned to Stamford Bridge in order to secure a deal to bring Axel Disasi to the club on a loan basis.
While a move for Disasi beyond the end of this season is something that is expected to be explored by all parties once the campaign concludes, there is another potential deal Villa could strike - one that Unai Emery has sought to seal for some time.
Chelsea loaned out Joao Felix to AC Milan in the January window, just a matter of months after handing him a seven-year contract. The Portuguese is likely to return to London at the end of the season after, by his own admission, being denied a Champions League run following the Serie A side's premature exit from the competition.
Felix cost Chelsea £45m from Atletico Madrid in the summer, a deal Villa themselves were trying to do. President of football operations Monchi confirmed that the Lions explored a move in the summer after sealing Champions League football, and then again in January as they looked for a short-term attacking reinforcements.
“The first thing we are going to do with the money we receive from the sale of Durán is to keep a portion of it because of the Fair Play rules, which are very demanding. A significant part of the income will go towards that," Monchi said in January.
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“Then there are names, one of them being João. Emery likes him, because in the three transfer markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery. But it is complicated, and I don’t know if we will be able to be there.
“He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery has been able to recover players who were considered lost in his history as a coach, and he trusts in João’s talent. The first time, Aston Villa were in the Conference and he wanted the Champions League, that’s why he went to Barcelona. Then, in the operation with Gallagher and Atlético he had to enter into negotiations with Chelsea and we couldn’t get in.”
Reports now indicate that Chelsea are expected to move Felix out again this summer, although it remains to be seen whether that'll be on another loan deal in order to ensure they don't make such a significant loss which could potentially harm their cause within the P&S rules further down the line.
Felix has been well liked by Emery for some time. The Villa boss spoke last year of the prospect of Felix signing, when he said: “He’s a special player and it was not totally impossible for us (to sign him), but he wanted to play for a team in the Champions League. 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. He can assist, score goals, drop deep to build up and he can play in the small spaces and drive into the box. He’s special. Our idea is to reduce the distance between them (a club such as Chelsea) and to get closer to them in one, two or three years. Spending money like they did? No! But trying to be consistent and get there another way in our work.”
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