Aston Villa’s president of football operations Monchi has conceded that bringing in Unai Emery’s top targets is proving to be difficult.
The Villans are in the market to bolster their attack having accepted an offer from Al Nassr for striker Jhon Duran in a deal potentially rising to £75million.
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talkSPORT understands that versatile Chelsea forward Joao Felix is wanted by the Midlands outfit, with Emery a huge admirer of his talents.
The 25-year-old has struggled for game time since linking up at Stamford Bridge from Atletico Madrid last summer for £44.5m.
He has been limited to just 12 Premier League appearances – starting just three times having fallen behind the pecking order under Enzo Maresca.
Meanwhile Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Asensio is on Villa’s radar to provide competition both up top and on the wings.
And now Monchi has publicly commented on the duo, where he admitted the players are wanted by Emery.
Though he admitted that the deals are proving to be financially difficult to pull off.
He told El Larguero of interest in Felix: “One of them is Joao. Emery likes him, because in the three markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery.
“But it is complicated, and I don’t know if we will be able to be there.
“He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery in his history as a coach has been able to recover players who were given up for lost, and he trusts in Joao’s talent.
“The first time, Aston Villa was in the Conference and he wanted the Champions League, that is why he went to Barcelona.
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“Then, in the operation with [Conor] Gallagher and Atletico [Madrid], he had to enter into negotiations with Chelsea and we couldn’t get in.”
On Villa’s pursuit of Asensio, Monchi added: “It’s a similar case to that of Joao Felix, there is also an important love affair.
“A little before my arrival, Aston Villa tried to sign him and they were close, but he went to PSG.
“He is always a player that Emery has had in mind because he believes in his quality.”
In a separate interview on El Partidazo de COPE, Monchi remarked: “Neither of them are easy.
“Because in terms of salary and cost they are not easy.
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“If there is a coach in world football who recovers players, it is Unai Emery.
“He has been able to recover talents. Joao Felix has talent, and it is just a matter of finding the right environment to bring out his best version.
“And Unai does that very, very well.”
