Aston Villa willing to make Joao Felix highest paid player – report

Atletico Madrid ‘welcomed’ Joao Felix back to training last week, with the Portuguese very much expected to leave the club for a third season in a row. Los Rojiblancos would rather a permanent exit, but it will depend on the offers.

Benfica have shown interest in Felix, but it seems he has little intention of returning to Portugal as things stand, while Barcelona lie in wait. Felix has been prioritising a return to Catalonia this summer, but Barcelona will only consider a move on loan, without a fee, and at the end of the transfer window if they have space in their salary limit – conditions which Atletico are not enamoured with.

Aston Villa are the other side that have been consistently linked with Felix, and Sport say that they are willing to reach Atletico’s €50m asking price for the 24-year-old. He would be required to take a wage cut though. Unai Emery is willing to make him their highest-paid player in their squad, offering a contract worth €9-10m per year, which is still a wage cut of around €5-6m per season – it is not clear whether these figures are gross or net wages.