Aston Villa have seemingly been dealt a blow in their quest to secure the transfer of Atletico Madrid forward, Joao Felix.
The transfer rumour mill went into overdrive on Sunday evening when Chelsea, as per, caused havoc in the market with a deal involving striker, Samu Omorodion.
It started circulating that Omorodion’s imminent move from Atletico to Stamford Bridge has collapsed and that then brought Aston Villa into the picture.
The reason is that Unai Emery’s dream transfer target Felix is now in talks of a return to Chelsea, which has left a proportion of the fanbase frustrated because the club have been long linked with the Portugal international.
Funnily enough, Felix was in action for Diego Simeone’s side on Sunday as he opened the scoring during their 2-0 win over Douglas Luiz’s Juventus.
Now, certain sections of the Villa fanbase are in meltdown because it seems as though Felix will be returning to Chelsea – he spent six months on loan at the London club in 2023.
But other areas of the pitch are far more important, as Villa’s second half of the 2023/24 Premier League season proved and their pre-season performances this summer.
The defence is the biggest issue, not the attack, so worry less about Felix not joining, although, knowing Chelsea, anything and everything could happen yet.
Aston Villa need to get Lutsharel Geertruida deal done
Amid the Felix talk, one man who has been linked to Aston Villa is versatile defender, Lutsharel Geertruida.
What Geertruida did for Feyenoord recently will have Emery desperate to sign him and that’s exactly how it should be amid all the focus on Felix.
This is the most important signing because Villa are conceding goals for fun and more depth is needed at the back.
Diego Carlos is expected to leave Villa, which leaves the out-of-form Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa, who only returned from his holidays, as the centre-backs.
That’s why more attention must be put towards Geertruida not signing rather than a forward who has been faltering for many years now.
Chelsea are welcomed to Joao Felix
Yes, Emery is a huge fan of Felix, but he hasn’t been setting the world alight in recent years and there is a reason why Atletico are getting rid of him.
Plus, a team like Chelsea possibly signing Felix (BBC Sport) shouldn’t be seen as some kind of benchmark because their record in the transfer market in recent years has been abject.
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes ‘don’t see’ thinking behind Unai Emery transfer decision
If he was so good, then they would have purchased him permanently when they first loaned him, but there is a reason they didn’t.
Villa need to move on from this saga, yes, still look to enhance the forward line if you can, but the majority of their focus should be on the backline.
