Aston Villa could beat Spurs to first summer transfer as £60m star midfielder lined up

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are looking to strengthen their squad ahead of a 2024/25 campaign which will see them feature in the UEFA Champions League. Latest reports from The Independent have linked the Villans with a move for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher who, as it has been previously reported, is also being targeted by Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea will be exceptionally open to doing business when the opening day of the summer transfer comes around in June as they seek to balance their books before the impending Profit and Sustainability Rules deadline hits at the end of next month. Chelsea are required to make some major sales before the 30 June and as Gallagher, 24, is a product of the youth set-up, his sale will be taken as pure profit.

Aston Villa will be forced to do some accounting of their own as they appear to be running close to the limits, thus putting a move for Gallagher in doubt as Chelsea have previously valued the star at up to £60m. However, the club is hopeful that a deal can be done once the market starts moving and offers from the Saudi Pro League and potentially Bayern Munich come in for a number of Villa players.

The Villans are said to have a strong interest in the box-to-box midfielder and Emery believes he will fit in well with their new approach. The report continues by saying that while Spurs remain interested in the 24-year-old - who captained Chelsea in the absence of the injured Reece James and Ben Chilwell - a move for Gallagher will not be as easy as it would have been a year ago.

Gallagher joined Chelsea at the age of eight and, as well as having loan spells at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, West Brom and Crystal Palace, the midfielder has gone on to make over 70 Premier League appearances for the Blues, scoring eight goals in the process. He has been named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional England squad for the Euros 2024 and has already won 12 international caps to date.

The 24-year-old is also understood to have been one of the reasons for Mauricio Pochettino’s departure as Chelsea manager as the Argentinian did not want to sell the midfielder.