Unai Emery is known to be a huge fan of the Portuguese, who he has already tried to sign on several occasions as Villa boss. Last summer, he came close to landing Felix, but a move didn't materialise in the end as the forward was used in Atletico Madrid's deal with Chelsea to sign Conor Gallagher.

Aston Villa and Chelsea have been locked in transfer talks in recent days, with at least one deal set to be done between the clubs as Unai Emery attempts to close in on his dream target.

The 26-year-old can play at centre-back and right-back, but even amid Chelsea’s injury worries in the former position has been overlooked in favour of Trevor Chalobah, who was recalled from his loan at Crystal Palace earlier this month.