Exclusive: Aston Villa favourites to sign Atletico Madrid star as Julian Alvarez deal is ‘agreed’

Atletico Madrid are in for a frantic few days as big-money transfers will see players leave and arrive, with Aston Villa showing an interest in one of their high-profile stars.

Diego Simeone is determined to build a squad capable of beating Real Madrid to the LaLiga title and he’s willing to offload several players to achieve that.

Young striker Samu Omorodion looks set to join Chelsea in a £35m deal as Conor Gallagher travels for a medical ahead of signing for Atletico.

Sources have exclusively informed TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti that Joao Felix could be the next player to depart Atletico after Omorodion.

His likely exit would follow the arrival of Julian Alvarez, who Atletico are set to sign after agreeing on a deal worth up to £82m for the Argentinian forward, per David Ornstein – a new record sale for the Premier League champions.

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Simeone’s relationship with Felix has been strained for a number of years and that’s why he’s been sent out on loan to the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea.

The Portugal international is undoubtedly a top player on his day and notched 10 goals and six assists with Barca last season.

Aston Villa show interest in Joao Felix

TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal that Aston Villa are the team pushing most to sign Felix this summer.

We understand that Unai Emery is firmly convinced his style of play would allow Felix to flourish and that he could become a key player at Villa Park.

TEAMtalk sources say Emery has asked Aston Villa to ‘make an effort’ to sign Felix and things could start moving now Alvarez is on his way to Atletico.

The two clubs are in contact over Felix and are ‘discussing a potential formula’ but to date, no official offer has been launched by the Villains.

Several clubs from Saudi Arabia have also contacted the attacker’s representatives to understand whether a deal could be possible.

But we can confirm that Felix has declined the opportunity to make the switch to Saudi as his priority is to remain in Europe.

The feeling is that concrete developments regarding the 24-year-old’s future will occur in the next couple of weeks.

Atletico have already decided that Felix isn’t part of their future plans but are also in no immediate rush to let him go, so they will wait patiently for a suitable offer, which is yet to arrive from any team.

Aston Villa are leading the race at this stage and this is a story for supporters to keep a close eye on over the coming days.

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