Aston Villa have so far refused to step forward in potential moves for Joao Felix and Raphinha, finding Atletico Madrid and Barcelona’s asking prices unacceptable.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who report that Aston Villa aren’t planning moves for either player as yet because they consider them ‘beyond their financial availability’.
The newspaper explains that while both players have been put on the market and Aston Villa like them, the fact that both have been valued at €70m each has put Aston Villa off.
They consider the two players inaccessible at that price point so don’t have them in their sights at this moment in time.
That’s left both players in limbo as their clubs seemingly look to get rid of them but a potential suitor in Aston Villa is now taken off the table.
Atletico are particularly keen to get rid of Felix quickly as neither they nor the player want him to come back to the club on July 27th and would prefer for his exit to have been sorted by that point.
They value him at €70m to amortise the investment they made in him and would be wiling to even sell 50% of his rights, something that could have tempted Aston Villa. They, though, don’t want to spend the money required despite being close to selling Moussa Diaby.
Barcelona, meanwhile, need to sell Raphinha to start making signings but the Brazilian’s price is set at €60-70m, a figure Villa are not willing to pay, particularly because they know Barcelona are desperate to sell.
Thus, they’re not keen on moving forward for him either, although there is time for the price to come down and the situation to change in the coming weeks.
