Aston Villa have reportedly expressed an interest in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher ahead of a potential summer swoop.
The 24-year-old has been a key figure for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season, making 49 appearances across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists to go with his all-round influence.
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However, with just a year remaining on his current contract with Chelsea, doubts are growing over his future at the club, and according to The Telegraph, Villa are perhaps lining up a move for him at the end of the season to bolster our own midfield ranks as we’ve been credited with showing interest.
It’s added that Gallagher and Chelsea haven’t made any progress in renewal talks, and so the possibility of him leaving is very much on the table, but we could face competition for his signature if we were to lodge an official bid, with Tottenham said to be keen on the England international too.
At this early stage though, it’s unclear as to how much Gallagher would cost as his contract situation would have a big impact on a price-tag, while it remains to be seen just how heavily Villa are able to spend this summer given we have our own FFP and PSR concerns to manage.
What is clear though is that it would be an important addition to our midfield, as that has been an area in which we’ve found ourselves light this season due to injuries and suspensions.
Particularly after the blow of losing Boubacar Kamara in February, that had a significant negative impact on our performances and results, and with a lack of similar alternatives to play that anchoring role in midfield, Unai Emery will surely be weighing up potential transfer target options this summer to strengthen his midfield.
Gallagher would tick a lot of the right boxes with his tenacity, physicality and his ability to contribute in the final third, while he of course has plenty of experience now following his loan stint at Crystal Palace, which in turn allowed him to cement his place in the Chelsea side.
Villa will undoubtedly be boosted by the ability to offer Champions League football to prospective transfer targets this summer, but again, there is still a lot of uncertainty about how much we’ll spend, and if we’ll need to sell to balance the books as well.