Aston Villa replace Moussa Diaby with an ex-Chelsea star who was once worth £113 million.

According to talkSPORT, Aston Villa are pondering an aggressive approach for Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix.

Villa manager Unai Emery is a long-time admirer of the Portuguese sensation, who spent last season on loan at Barcelona.

Felix might make his Premier League return with Villa.

The club are set bank around £60million as Moussa Diaby, who only signed from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, is set to join Al Ittihad.

Felix could therefore be the man to replace him in their attack five years after he signed for Atletico Madrid from Benfica in a £113million deal, the fourth most expensive transfer ever.

It would see him make a return to the Premier League after he spent the second-half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Chelsea.

The 24-year-old scored four goals in 20 appearances in what proved to be a campaign to forget for the Blues as they finished 12th in the Premier League.

Felix has 34 goals and 18 assists in 131 games with Atletico Madrid, helping them win LaLiga in 2021 and being voted Player of the Year the following season.

Last season, he had a good time with Barcelona, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists.

However, he could be leaving Spain permanently this summer to join Villa, who have already been active in the market.

Felix might be their seventh signing of the summer, following Ian Maatsen from Chelsea.

Cameron Archer, Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea, Lewis Dobbin, and Ross Barkley have also signed for Villa Park.

Jaden Philogene, who returned from a year at Hull City, joined as their newest signing last week. He will earn £13.5 million after Villa included a 30% sell-on clause in their agreement last summer.

Felix exhibited better form throughout his loan time with Barcelona.

Douglas Luiz’s transfer to Juventus in a deal of £42 million has reduced Villa’s spending, with Iling-Junior and Barrenechea also leaving.

Tim Iroegbunam, Morgan Sanson, and Viljami Sinisalo have all gone permanently, with Calum Chambers moving to Cardiff.

Philippe Coutinho has joined childhood club Vasco da Gama on loan, while Filip Marschall has signed with Crewe Alexandra until the end of the season.