Aston Villa have held talks with Chelsea over a move for Conor Gallagher, and have been in contact with the midfielder’s camp according to reports.
Gallagher was one of Chelsea’s standout performers last season, and captained the side for large parts of the campaign due to injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
The England international’s future has been a topic of conversation for much of last season, and he’s now entering the final year of his contract, with no sign of any talks over a new deal.
Villa open talks for Gallagher
Gallagher has been at Chelsea since the age of eight, coming through the ranks at his boyhood club, and has had loan spells at Charlton, West Brom and Crystal Palace.
However, it wasn’t until last season that he really established himself at Stamford Bridge as he became a key player under Mauricio Pochettino.
The 24-year-old was the only Chelsea player to make 50 or more appearances in the last campaign, and was an ever present in the Premier League, missing just one game through suspension.
Gallagher is a fan favourite and the Stamford Bridge faithful have made it clear they would like the academy graduate to stay, but the club seem intent on selling one of their own.
Uncertainty over his future has seen him strongly linked to rivals Tottenham, whilst there’s also been interest from Newcastle and Atletico Madrid, with the Blues said to value the midfielder at around £50m.
However, The Athletic have reported Villa have opened talks with Chelsea over a move for Gallagher and have been in contact with his camp.
The reports adds Unai Emery is a huge fan of the midfielder and he’s emerging as a top target for Villa this summer as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of playing Champions League football next season.
Villa have agreed a deal to sign Ross Barkley from Luton and already boast the likes of Douglas Luiz, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara amongst their midfield ranks, so presumably one of them might be leaving Villa Park this summer to make room for Gallagher.
