Aston Villa are reportedly now on the verge of reaching an agreement with Atletico Madrid to sign Conor Gallagher.
The 25-year-old joined the Spanish giants in 2024 and has since gone on to make 77 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side, contributing seven goals and seven assists to go with his overall influence in midfield.
However, it appears as though a return to England is now on the cards after his previous stint at Chelsea, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Villa are on the verge of reaching an agreement with Atleti over an initial loan switch, with an option to buy included in the agreement, while it could become mandatory based on certain conditions.
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Importantly, while there is still a deal to be finalised between the two clubs, it’s added that there is no agreement with Gallagher on personal terms as of yet, so there is still a way to go before this swoop can become official.
Although Villa have quality and depth in midfield already, this could prove to be a savvy move given both Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are currently sidelined by injury, and have been rather injury prone since arriving at the club.
Further, with his current contract set to expire this summer, this potential swoop for Gallagher may well raise question marks over Barkley’s long-term future at Villa.
Meanwhile, Boubacar Kamara also suffered an injury setback this past weekend in our win over Tottenham in the FA Cup, and so we may well need additional options as we prepare to compete across three fronts in the back-end of the campaign.
Gallagher ticks a lot of important boxes to make him an excellent fit for Emery’s style of play with his tenacity, energy and technical ability, and the Basque coach will be fully aware of his qualities given his previous impressive form at Chelsea.
In turn, it remains to be seen if a deal is completed for the England international this month, and in turn, what the knock-on effect is for those already in the squad, as we’ll certainly need numbers and competition, but perhaps with one making room for Gallagher and simultaneously bringing our wage bill down.
