Aston Villa sporting director Monchi has confirmed his club’s long-standing interest in Chelsea forward Joao Felix amid progressing talks to finalize a deal that will see their Colombian forward Jhon Duran head to the Saudi Pro League to join Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr..
Speaking on Spanish late-night radio on Thursday, Monchi fueled transfer speculation as the January window approaches its deadline on Monday evening. Villa have been central to various transfer rumors, receiving multiple bids from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins while also putting the final touches on Duran’s move to Saudi Arabia..
The Spanish chief opened up on the financial benefits of the 21-year-old forward’s move to the middle-east, emphasizing Villa’s need to meet up with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). He also name-dropped Felix as one of Villa manager Unai Emery’s “object of desire.”
“The first thing we are going to do with the money we receive from the sale of Duran is to keep a portion of it due to the [Financial] Fair Play rules, which are very demanding,” Monchi told El Larguero. “A significant part of the income will go to that.
“Then there are names,” Monchi continued, pivoting towards Villa’s transfer targets, “one of them is Joao. Emery likes him, because in the three markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery. But it is complicated, and I don’t know if we will be able to be there.
“He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery in his history as a coach has been able to recover players who were given up for lost, and he trusts in Joao’s talent.
“The first time, Aston Villa was in the Conference and he wanted the Champions League, that is why he went to Barcelona. Then, in the operation with [Conor] Gallagher and Atletico [Madrid], he had to enter into negotiations with Chelsea and we couldn’t get in.”
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