João Felix has reportedly ruled himself out of January move to Aston Villa as the Premier League club lacks "substance and history."
Marca report that Felix is a target for Villa and new manager Unai Emery.
They also claim that the "team and the city" is not believed to be very attractive for Felix.
Arsenal are believed to be leading the race to sign the Athletic Madrid star although his agent Jorge Mendes is said to be "pushing for him" to join Aston Villa.
Mendes has a good relationship with the Birmingham club. The influential agent is believed to have played a key role in getting Emery the job at Villa Park after Steven Gerrard was sacked in October.
Miguel Angel Gil, the Chief Executive of Athletico, last week said that the club would consider offers for the 23-year-old as he wanted to leave the club.
"He is the biggest investment the club has ever made and I think he is at the highest level in the world in terms of talent," Gil told Spanish TV.
"I would love him to continue, but that is not the player's idea."
Several clubs interested in signing João Felix
PSG, Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are also all said to be interested in acquiring the Portuguese international.
Arsenal are said to be particularly keen to sign Felix after Gabriel Jesus had to undergo knee surgery.
Some of the interested sides believe they may be able to sign Felix on loan next month with others feeling that a permanent transfer is more realistic.
The skilful attacker joined Athletico from Benfica for €127 million back in 2019, which remains their record signing.
He also featured prominently for Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, however his side were knocked out in the quarter-final stage by Morocco.
SEE ALSO: League One Manager Joey Barton Calls On Gareth Southgate To Resign
