An update has emerged on Aston Villa and their pursuit of Joao Felix ahead of the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that the Villans are attempting to sign the Portuguese international and have already held talks with his agent.

However, there is still plenty of work left to be done to secure a deal as the Atletico Madrid talent may have his sights on a transfer elsewhere.

The reporter told GIVEMESPORT: “For sure, Aston Villa are trying for Joao Felix. They had a conversation with his agent Jorge Mendes and the relationship is very good, but the reality is that the player is expecting something different. So I think it’s not going to be an easy one.”

The Evening Standard have reported that Atletico have placed a €100m (£88m) price tag on the forward's head and it remains to be seen whether or not Villa are prepared to pay that.

David Villa 2.0

Emery has worked with a number of terrific forward players throughout his career in management; including the likes of Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria, Neymar, Mbappe, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He has proven that he knows how to work with elite talent and one of the best examples of his management of star forwards is how he got David Villa firing at Valencia.

Emery arrived at the Mestalla in 2008 and instantly got the Spain international in top form. Villa had scored 18 and 15 La Liga goals in the two seasons prior to the manager's arrival and then produced 28 and 21 league goals in his two campaigns with the current Villans coach.

The gem then moved on to Barcelona in 2010 as his superb performances for Valencia under Emery's management attracted the interest of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Felix could now follow in the striker's footsteps by linking up with the Spanish coach to take his game to the next level. Like Villa, the Portuguese forward is not a traditional number nine and can play as a second striker or out wide on the left - cutting in on his right foot.

Renato Paiva, Felix's former youth coach at Benfica, previously hailed the youngster as having a bit of "magic" and his statistics back that up as he registered 20 goals and 11 assists in 43 matches for the Portuguese side at senior level. 

He has only scored 24 times in 93 La Liga outings for Atletico but only 53 of those appearances came from the starting line-up. This means that he could improve his goalscoring record if he becomes a regular starter at a new club, which is backed up by his sublime form for Benfica prior to moving to Spain.

Therefore, Emery could unearth his next David Villa by signing Felix and helping the maestro to fulfil his potential by giving him the game time he needs to take the next step in his development.