Aston Villa have their eyes on a Premier League ace ahead of the transfer window, as Unai Emery prepares for his first summer in charge of the club.

The Spaniard is reported to have a monster £150m budget to spend, as the Villans aim to equip their side with star quality as their first European involvement since 2010 comes next season.

In their latest linked player, Villa could sign one of the world’s most talented youngsters, who could be a perfect fit in Emery’s plans.

What’s the latest on Joao Felix to Aston Villa?

As reported by Mundo Deportivo last week, Villa have emerged as one of the ‘options’ for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix.

The claims have been supported by Football Insider, who yesterday revealed that a move for the Chelsea loanee ‘cannot be ruled out’ ahead of the window, with the player having already been offered to the Villans.

Transfer expert Pete O’Rourke added that the Midlands side are ‘ambitious’ and aim to bring in attacking reinforcements this summer.

What could Joao Felix bring to Aston Villa?

Lauded as being an “excellent player” by international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner even tipped the starlet to ‘repeat’ his successes in Spain during an interview in 2019.

There’s no denying the talents that Felix has, despite a slightly underwhelming loan spell at Chelsea ending with him scoring four goals in 16 Premier League appearances – via Sofascore.

At just 23, the youngster has already established himself as one of Europe’s most encouraging talents, as supported by his 107 goal contributions in a total of 238 recorded career appearances – as per Transfermarkt.

The youngster could find comfort playing under Emery, who could unleash the Portuguese gem’s full potential which would be a positive action for Villa and specifically, Ollie Watkins.

Playing predominantly as a centre-forward, Felix has become accustomed to playing with a strike partner in Madrid, recording stellar performances in Diego Simeone’s inspired 3-5-2 formation.

During his time in Spain, the £195k-per-week ace registered 52 goal contributions in 131 games, showing the threat he could add to Villa’s attack if paired with Emery’s 15-goal forward.

Hailed as “special” by former strike partner Alvaro Morata, the Spaniard praised the former Benfica star’s ability to provide a ‘great’ range of passing that allowed him to run into space.

Emery has unleashed a strength in positional play in Watkins, that could serve the Spaniard well if he can pair him with the expertise of Felix.

In a piece analysing the Englishman’s performance against Newcastle United this season, Medium journalist Sam Stobbart claimed that the 27-year-old ‘can’t be stopped’ when he makes a run to capitalise on a ball from an advanced position.

Such exploits have been displayed by Felix, who could be Watkins’ perfect strike partner, something that's rubber-stamped by his average of 4.12 progressive passes per 90, ranking him in the top 5% of forwards in Europe in this area – as per FBref.

Emery could create a special duo to grace Villa Park if he can pull the superstar signing off, and with his stance on wanting to “add another striker” clear, the prospect is one fans can get very excited about.