Unai Emery calls Chelsea 23-year-old ‘a special player’ ahead of Aston Villa clash

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Unai Emery claims his Aston Villa side will be coming up against something “special” this weekend in Chelsea’s Joao Felix.

Emery, who’s made a great start as Villa manager, will bring his side to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, where he’ll be in direct battle with Graham Potter in the opposite dugout.

If you were to pick out a potential match-winner for the upcoming Premier League fixture, Joao Felix would be a fairly safe choice.

The 23-year-old attacker joined Chelsea midway through the season on a short-term loan from Atletico Madrid.

Spanish publication Marca claims that Chelsea are yet to contact Atletico about signing £100million-rated (£88million) Felix this summer.

We think most of the Blues fanbase would love him to join on a permanent basis, though.

Emery has been discussing all things Chelsea in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

When asked specifically about Felix, the Villa boss delivered a glowing verdict on the opposition forward. In particular, he’s spotted the Portugal international improving this season since he arrived in West London.

“As a player he’s a special player. His position as a No.10 is very difficult to be like him with good skills. He can play doing an assist, scoring goals, dropping to try and build up. He can play in the space and small spaces, trying to do something; assist, driving, getting in the box,” Emery said, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail.

“He needs time here to adapt in the Premier League. He’s young, progressively he’s getting better at Chelsea as well. I always follow him and I admire him as a player.”

These are some very kinds words from Emery, who deserves praise himself for the job he’s doing at Villa Park so far.

We’ve got to agree with him when showering Felix with praise.

Blues supporters should just enjoy watching him in the next few months when he steps on the pitch because who knows if he will return on a permanent basis.

He does look like the closest thing the Blues have had to Eden Hazard since the Belgian departed, mainly in terms of being the individual to create something out of nothing.

Frank Lebouef recently claimed he wouldn’t mind Chelsea selling Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount if it led to Felix joining permanently. It highlights just how great his impact has been in such a short space of time.