The Champions League is once again within sight, and in Birmingham, they don’t want to miss the opportunity to secure back-to-back appearances among Europe’s elite clubs. Ahead of the final round of the group stage this season, Aston Villa has a chance to advance directly to the Round of 16 with a home victory over Celtic and at least one other favorable result. We’ll see how far Unai Emery’s team can go, but regardless of their current campaign, they must secure qualification again through their Premier League performance. Currently, Villa sits eighth in the league, four points shy of the coveted position.The gap is not insurmountable, and to achieve their goal, Villa Park has decided to make serious reinforcements this winter. Striker Donyell Malen has already arrived from Borussia Dortmund for 25 milion euros along with right-back Andres Garcia from Levante for 7 milions. The next two signings, however, could be on a whole new level, akin to continental “blockbusters”!Done deal – there is a new Villan in townAccording to RMC Sport, Aston Villa is interested in Chelsea’s duo Joao Felix and Axel Disasi. Negotiations are ongoing with the London club regarding Felix, though it’s unclear whether the Portuguese forward would arrive on loan or through a permanent transfer—highly unlikely, given Chelsea paid Atletico Madrid 52 milions for him this summer. Meanwhile, Disasi has reportedly agreed to personal terms for a loan until the end of the season, without a purchase option. The final approval from Chelsea remains pending, which would confirm that interest from Milan and Napoli in the French defender wasn’t compelling enough.🚨🔵 EXCL 👀 João Felix to Aston Villa for £45m fee and Jhon Duran to #CFC for £70m will be formally completed as separate deals.Disasi, awaiting greenlight from Chelsea to complete loan move.Players already said yes to the move…Here We Go, soon 💣⏳Sorry, practicing for… pic.twitter.com/OWQQdKarhJ— Blue 📡 (@AllChelseaBlog) January 28, 2025 Joao Felix returned to Chelsea last June after spending the second half of the 2022/2023 season there but failed to make a lasting impression. His strong performances for Barcelona last season reignited interest, earning him another move. However, in his 20 appearances this season, he has mostly come off the bench and struggled to meet expectations for a player valued at over 50,000,000, let alone the 120,000,000+ Atlético Madrid paid Benfica for him. Under Enzo Maresca, Felix has started only six matches—half of them in domestic cups and the Europa Conference League, where he has scored four goals. Nevertheless, the Conference League is a third-tier UEFA competition, far below the Premier League in quality, making it a less reliable indicator of form.##NAJAVA_MECA_8667124##
