Joao Felix is an enigma. Anyone who watches him play will see the obvious talent that the player possesses. Yet, one thing he lacks is consistency. Always capable of producing a magic moment on the pitch, it gets frustrating when such moments don’t come about often.
The Portuguese international was a beast at Benfica. He won the European Golden Boy Award in 2019 for his performances, which won him a move to Atletico Madrid. However, things haven’t panned out as expected in the Spanish capital.
Felix fell out of favour under Diego Simeone with the pair not seeing eye-to-eye. The player was eventually shipped out to Barcelona on loan last season. He had a decent season at the Catalan club but not enough to prompt them to buy him permanently.
Aston Villa have now emerged as suitors for the 24-year-old following the exit of Moussa Diaby. According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Unai Emery’s side is continuing to push for the Portuguese attacker but the package is expected to be expensive.
Transfermarkt values Joao Felix at around £25.21m. That is a steep decline from the nine-figure fee Atletico paid for him in 2019 but they will be lucky to recoup even one-fourth of that fee from any potential sale this summer.
Unai Emery has been building an impressive project at Villa Park. The exit of players hasn’t deterred him from continuing with setting his team up for a Champions League finish. Felix might be the latest piece in the puzzle.
A move away from La Liga might be what Felix needs to discover his lost ability. The player might be at an all-time low following his penalty miss against France in the Euros which saw his nation being knocked out of the tournament.
At 24, Felix still has time to rediscover his best ability. Emery is a smart enough tactician to bring the best out of the player and let’s wait and see if a union happens this summer.
