Aston Villa could move for a £300,000-per-week midfielder, amid reports they're pushing to sign Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix.
Monchi and NSWE restructure Villa squad in busy transfer window
After a phenomenal 2023/24 season, in which they sealed a top-four place and qualification for the Champions League, transfer chief Monchi and NSWE have been very busy this transfer window – both in terms of incomings and outgoings.
Aston Villa tell £17 million striker's camp they want to sign him for Emery
They’ve informed his club as well.
ByEmilio GalantiniAug 3, 2024
The Midlands side have splashed £150 million in total on new recruits this summer, including a £50 million deal for Belgium international midfielder Amadou Onana, who comes as their latest confirmed signing through the door.
Player
Fee paid
Amadou Onana
£50 million
Ian Maatsen
£38 million
Jaden Philogene
£18 million
Cameron Archer
£14 million
Samuel Iling-Junior
£12 million
Lewis Dobbin
£10 million
Enzo Barrenechea
£7 million
Ross Barkley
£5 million
Going in the opposite direction, Brazil international ace Douglas Luiz will be a sore miss for Villa next season after his move to Juventus, considering he racked up 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions under Emery last season.
Moussa Diaby also joined Al-Ittihad for around £50 million, just one year after completing a multi-million-pound switch to the Premier League from Bayer Leverkusen, so the revolving door at Villa has kept swinging throughout this transfer window.
Multiple reports have claimed that Villa are also pushing to sign Felix from Atletico Madrid as well, so Monchi may not be done after splashing the cash, despite concerns surrounding PSR since the beginning of this summer.
Felix has been described as Emery's "dream target", and the Portugal international could work wonders to replace Diaby following his move to the Middle East. Felix's best season came during the 2019/2020 campaign at Benfica, where he racked up 15 goals and seven assists in the Primeira Liga alone.
He's spent the last one and a half seasons on loan spells elsewhere, though, with Felix joining Chelsea temporarily before he swapped Madrid for Barcelona last campaign.
This indicates that the 24-year-old's future could be far away from Diego Simeone's first team, and perhaps a move to Villa is one to watch.
Aston Villa could move for Jack Grealish alongside Felix
Rumours have also linked Villa with an audacious swoop for ex-captain and club star Jack Grealish, who missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the Euros.
The £300,000-per-week midfielder endured a stop-start season at Man City last campaign, despite being a key player in their treble-winning side the season prior, and journalist Dean Jones has suggested on the Ranks FC Ultras podcast that Villa could make a move to re-sign Grealish – even if he deems it unlikely the player will leave.
"There was a story that came out about Aston Villa considering a move for Jack Grealish," Jones said.
"I have to be careful with this one. It was mentioned to me by someone else and I had heard this whisper about Aston Villa potentially going for Jack Grealish. They’re showing ambition with Joao Felix and the rest of it, but there was a feeling they might test the water on Jack Grealish.
"My hunch is that Grealish is going nowhere.
"I was speaking to somebody at Man City last week and Grealish has come back as the fittest member of the squad, he’s extremely hungry, he wants to bounce back from the misery of missing out on the England squad."