Aston Villa are assessing several options to replace Moussa Diaby though Unai Emery’s stance on two targets has become clear.
Overall, Unai Emery and Monchi will be satisfied with Aston Villa’s transfer window so far, with plenty of deals to report on.
The duo have welcomed seven new players to the squad, as well as seeing others depart for profit.
Currently, Emery and Monchi will be eager to locate a replacement for Moussa Diaby, who is set to leave the club just a year after his arrival although, two rumoured targets now look unlikely to arrive in B6 this summer.
Aston Villa unlikely to replace Moussa Diaby with either Raphinha or Joao Felix
Two players who have been linked to Villa this summer are Barcelona’s Raphinha and Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid.
The latter has been suggested as a possible target for Emery since last summer however, new reports claim that the 24-year-old is not an option for the Midlands club.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who say that the pair are not ‘in the sights’ of Emery at Villa, due to the financial strain that would come with signing either player.
- READ MORE: ‘Get coaches sacked’… Unai Emery sent stark warning over Aston Villa interest in Joao Felix
It’s said that the Spanish clubs will want a price in the region of €70m (£59m) for the players respectively, a valuation that is ‘well above’ the ability of Villa’s finances.
Mundo Deportivo adds that currently, both Felix and Raphinha are ‘inaccessible players’ to Monchi, so have been ruled out of the race for Villa to explore.
Given that Villa are to find themselves in a strong financial situation by selling Diaby for a fee around the £50m mark, it’s believed that the club ‘do not want to spend’ the money they receive from Al-Ittihad for the Frenchman.
Monchi and Unai Emery are wary of how much Raphinha and Felix will cost
While the price tag of both players is expected to be high, Emery and Monchi would also have to consider the wage demands of the two forwards.
Felix is understood to earn a weekly wage of £235k at Atletico, with Raphinha picking up a hefty £202k-a-week at Barcelona, via Capology, salaries that would make either of them the highest-paid player at Villa by a lot.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa player wages 2023/24, ranked
They’re also two high-risk transfers as a result of the money that would go into acquiring either player, with Felix struggling for form over the past two seasons, and Raphinha being a sporadically used talent in Catalonia.
It would be surprising to now see Monchi approach either of the targets this summer, with Mundo Deportivo’s update on the situation highlighting the crucial financial factors to a possible deal.
