Aston Villa reignite interest in £42m Chelsea star to replace Bundesliga-bound Buendia

Aston Villa have reportedly reignited their interest in Chelsea’s Joao Felix as they look to replace Emiliano Buendia.
Buendia made just his third start of the season for Villa last week, with the previous two coming in the Carabao Cup, and manager Unai Emery singled him out for praise despite his disappointment at losing 1-0 to Monaco in the Champions League.
“Buendia played a fantastic match,” he said. “Of course, I am very happy with a lot of players. Today, especially with Emi Buendia, because he has the option to leave but today we needed him and he played fantastic with his qualities, fantastic mentality and fantastic with his commitment with the squad.”
That may well have been a ploy to put him in the January transfer shop window and it appears to have worked.
Leeds were keen but the Argentinian didn’t want to drop down to the Championship and has been rewarded for his patience through a loan move to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Transfer expert Florian Plettenberg wrote on X: ‘EXCLUSIVE | Emiliano #Buendia, now on the verge of joining Leverkusen with immediate effect!
‘Total agreement with Aston Villa now has been reached. Verbal agreement was done.
’28 y/o versatile attacking midfielder will join Leverkusen on a 6-month loan with an option to buy. Medical soon.’
Fabrizio Romano later confirmed that Buendia’s buy option is ‘around €20m’ and that the 28-year-old signed a one-year contract extension with Villa until 2027 before agreeing to the move.
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And the Villans have wasted no time in moving to source a replacement, with Romano revealing that Emery’s side have reignited the interest they held in Felix in the summer.
Romano wrote on X: ‘Aston Villa, one of several clubs monitoring João Félix situation ahead of the final days of the window. His agent Jorge Mendes, talking to many clubs as reported last week.’
Felix moved to the Blues from Atletico Madrid in a £42m deal in the summer but the Portugal international has started just three Premier League games this term having failed to usurp the formidable figure of Cole Palmer in Enzo Maresca’s first XI.
When asked about the lack of game time he’s afforded to Felix and Christopher Nkunku, Maresca said: “I can say that they are Chelsea players, that’s for sure.
“The challenge for Joao and Christopher is that we predominantly field just one attacking midfielder in most matches, and the primary choice for that position has fallen on Cole Palmer.
“For this reason, Nkunku and Felix are gradually receiving playing time, but both are fantastic footballers.”