Aston Villa have a decision to make in the transfer window however, the club have been warned that one target could cause a problem.
The summer transfer window has been busy for Aston Villa this year, with Monchi and Unai Emery getting to work fast ahead of the 2024/25 calendar.
Part of Villa’s rapid start to business came as the club needed to address their PSR concerns, with sufficient sales easing such woes.
Despite weathering their financial storm by offloading key players such as Douglas Luiz, it’s expected that the club will lose another star before deadline day.
Moussa Diaby is poised to exit after one year at Villa as Al-Ittihad close in on his services, seeing a host of top-quality players now linked with a move to Villa Park to replace him.
Aston Villa warned of the problems transfer target Joao Felix could cause
Euro 2024 star Nico Williams is one player that Villa are said to admire as a possible replacement for Diaby however, Joao Felix seems to be the more likely figure to aim for this summer.
As Williams looks to be close to joining Barcelona, the Midlands club are rumoured to be eyeing Felix, who spent last term on loan in Catalonia.
Now that the 24-year-old has returned to Atletico Madrid, it’s understood that Diego Simeone is eager to offload the Portgual international however, Villa have been warned that he may not be the best person to target.
Speaking on ESPN FC, pundit Steve Nicol expressed his concerns over Felix based on his rocky few years at Atletico.
“There are players that get coaches sacked, and he [Felix] falls in that category.
“He’s the guy who will show flashes of absolute genius and you think, here we go, and then it disappears.
“He’s got an ability that 80% of other players on the planet don’t have, but unfortunately he doesn’t know how to use it consistently.”
Felix left Atletico on loan in January 2023 to join Chelsea after falling out of favour in Simeone’s side, seeing him become somewhat of an enemy in Madrid.
Nicol’s fears that the player’s inconsistency could follow him to Villa Park will be in the back of the minds of many, having had a below-par time since his falling out at Atletico.
Unai Emery will be cautious of Felix’s inconsistencies
While Felix’s quality on his day is unquestionable, the Portugal star’s development has not gone where many would have expected.
Part of this is due to the issue of inconsistency that Nicol raised, which many Villa fans will be aware of having seen the 24-year-old in action for Chelsea during the 2022/23 campaign.
In the Premier League, Felix managed to score four goals in 16 appearances for the Blues, starting 11 games of the 16 times he featured.
The concerns that Nicol alluded to rang true at Stamford Bridge, as the former Benfica sensation showed small glimpses of his potential yet never wowed on a consistent basis.
It will be interesting to see how Emery approaches the player knowing what he knows about his lack of progression of late, with the Spaniard having the ability to unlock the player, despite there being many reservations about his form.
