It's a testament to the culture that Unai Emery has fostered at Villa Park that after just one year, the forthcoming sale of Aston Villa's club-record signing is not being viewed as detrimental.
Had such a scenario been presaged upon Moussa Diaby's £52m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in July 2022, listeners would likely fear that Emery's good work in the 2022/23 campaign would unravel like a loose spool of string.
But Villa have cohesion and belief in bucketloads, and after qualifying for the Champions League with a top-four Premier League finish, moves have been made to ensure that Diaby's exit will not prove to be a stumbling point.
Of course, Samuel Iling-Junior and Jaden Philogene will be plying their trade on Villa's flanks next season, with Morgan Rogers also signed from Middlesbrough in January, but another element to the attacking contingent would go down a treat.
Aston Villa want Moussa Diaby replacement
According to Radio Marca – via the Metro – Aston Villa are confident of their chances of pulling off a major coup and signing Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese fell out of favour in the Spanish capital and spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Barcelona, but financial problems have precluded his chances of staying at Camp Nou for the long run.
Since returning to the Atletico first-team squad is off the cards, Felix may well be shipped out on loan, though if the Villans want to be certain of his signing, they must meet the Є60m (£50m) asking price.
Joao Felix's season in numbers at Barcelona
Felix signed for Atletico Madrid with a weight of expectation in 2019, completing a £113m move from SL Benfica aged only 19. That's a lot of coinage for one so young to shoulder, and Felix has not lived up to the fee, such as it is, despite maintaining the silkiness and skills that mark him as a first-class forward.
La Liga Journalist Jose Delgado remarked after Atleti's signing: "Since Ronaldo, we [Spain] have not had a player so exciting and young like him until now." However, such claims would not stand the test of time anymore.
It's the final product that let him down in the capital. Across 131 appearances under Diego Simeone, the Portugal international has only scored 34 goals, adding 18 assists.
That's a rate of 0.40 goal contributions per match, which isn't brilliant considering the price tag. Of course, Felix can't control that and the way that he plays across the frontline brings the team together, influential and effective.
On loan at Barca last season, the 24-year-old bagged ten times, adding six assists, across 44 outings, and though that seems like quite an average tally, Felix only registered 22 starting appearances across the campaign. His overall play even led talent scout Jacek Kulig to hail him as "the football artist".
Therefore, the 5 foot 11 star actually ranked among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues last season for non-penalty goals scored per 90, as per FBref, emphasising his deceptively prolific campaign.
Villa could offer him the perfect conditions to start anew, carrying over his clinical edge and rising to the fore. He's already tried his hand in the Premier League, enjoying a short-term stint at Chelsea in 2022/23, and while Stamford Bridge was beset by a veritable earthquake of struggle during that period, he showed enough to suggest that he could thrive at Villa Park.
Why Aston Villa should sign Joao Felix
Aston Villa have been busy this summer, with a flurry of activity countering the departures of Douglas Luiz and Diaby, who is indeed poised to move to the Saudi Pro League and sign with Al-Ittihad in a £60m package.
But Diaby, while electric and typically a wide forward, played the lion's share of his football last season in a central attacking midfield role, suggesting that Felix could be the perfect man to replace him.
Felix operated on the left with the greatest regularity for La Blaugrana but has enjoyed most of his football playing off the centre-forward, in a thrusting No. 10 position.
Attacking midfield
142
43
21
0.45
Left winger
65
22
11
0.51
Centre-forward
40
13
8
0.52
Right winger
15
2
1
0.20
Diaby scored ten goals and supplied nine assists under Emery's wing last season but didn't bring it all together as perhaps the powers that be had hoped, averaging only 0.3 tackles and winning just 1.5 duels (at a success rate of 35%) per game, as per Sofascore.
Felix has demonstrated under Xavi at Barcelona that he has what it takes to add to Aston Villa's goal threat, also sharpening his tools over several years of service in Simeone's defensively exceptional system – in 2021/22, perhaps his finest season in Atletico colours, Felix averaged 4.7 duels per La Liga match, winning 60%.
Diaby's sale is a blow, but one that can be combatted – has been combatted already. Felix's signing is not imperative to the success of the big machine, but it would certainly aid Emery in his quest for triumph both domestically and on the continent, in the Champions League.
After an emphatic introduction to life in the Premier League, Diaby plateued. Selling him for £60m is a no-brainer, placating PSR – and with Felix welcomed as his replacement, it could prove to be something of a masterstroke.
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