Aston Villa can pull off an incredible signing if they manage to land Atletico Madrid and Portugal forward Joao Felix, says journalist Pete O'Rourke.

The 23-year-old has emerged as a surprise target for the Villans, and O'Rourke thinks he could be available for transfer.

GiveMeSport Transfer Verdict

Aston Villa transfer news - Joao Felix

MARCA recently claimed that Villa have entered the race to sign Felix.

According to the same outlet, Manchester United and Chelsea have had the Atletico star on their radar for some time now, but it now looks like there is another interested party from England.

Whether Villa have any chance of landing Felix remains to be seen, but you cannot fault their ambition.

If he does become available in January, excluding his Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, there is unlikely to be a more high-profile player on the market.

What has Pete O'Rourke said about Joao Felix and Aston Villa?

O'Rourke has described Felix as a top name and thinks he would be some signing if Villa can actually lure him to Villa Park.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: "They've been linked with some top names. Matheus Cunha, who does seem like he's available, and Joao Felix, who could also be available from Atletico Madrid. If Villa were able to pull off that signing, what a signing that would be."

Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: When Does It Begin, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know

Joao Felix at the World Cup

Felix has reminded everyone what he can do at this year's World Cup after some difficult moments at Atletico Madrid.

In truth, he may have been happy to get away from the Spanish club and manager Diego Simeone after making just five league starts this season, as per Transfermarkt. There, the former Benfica man has not been able to make much of an impact, but it has been a completely different story with Portugal.

For example, Felix was able to score in his nation's opener versus Ghana before registering a couple of assists against Switzerland in the last 16.

It is the sort of form that Atletico supporters probably have not seen enough of from the Portugal star for whatever reason.

With that in mind, Felix not playing his best football at the Wanda Metropolitano, it would now not be a surprise if he did end up leaving the Spanish capital.

What would be a shock, though, is if the Atletico forward, who is currently valued at around £60m by the CIES Football Observatory, joined Unai Emery's side. It is hard to imagine a player of his profile moving to a club who are not currently competing in Europe.

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