Super-agent Jorge Mendes is expected in England this week for more talks about Portugal star Joao Felix’s future.
Felix is set to leave Atletico Madrid after a fallout with coach Diego Simeone. And, having already sought out initial talks with Chelsea and Manchester United, Mendes is now hoping to speak to Newcastle and Aston Villa to see what level of interest either club might have in his client.
Atletico bigwigs do not want to let Felix, 23, leave but they understand the situation between forward and his coach has become untenable. That has opened the door to a move with Felix open to a switch to the Premier League. The issue facing both Newcastle and Villa is that the player wants Champions League football and neither, this season at least, can offer that.
However, both clubs can offer him a significant increase on his salary in Madrid and Villa boss Unai Emery is keen to talk directly to him in a bid to convince him about a move to Villa Park.
The fact Newcastle have started the season so well, allied to the amount of money set to be pumped into the club over the coming years, could also make Felix consider taking a more long-term view of the project at St James’ Park.
In 2019, Atletico paid Benfica around £90million for Felix and he still has three-and-a-half years to run on his contract.
However, the Spaniards’ Champions League exit last month means they need to balance the books and selling one of their star players will go a long way towards doing that.
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also considering a move for the Portuguese.
