Aston Villa are set for a busy summer of transfer action as they look to hand Unai Emery a squad capable of competing in the Champions League and Premier League simultaneously next season, and they have already identified a new addition.
Douglas Luiz up for sale?
The Midlands side are set for the first Champions League season in their history and are already making preparations, with Ross Barkley primed to join the club from relegated Luton Town in a deal thought to be worth £5m.
But recent reports have claimed that sales might be required to fund their spending this summer, and have pointed to Douglas Luiz as a potential man to exit the club before the new season amid interest from Arsenal and Juventus.
Juve are willing to offer around £25-30m plus midfielder Weston McKennie, though Villa may prefer a straight sale for FFP purposes. They could also be willing to listen to offers for Jhon Duran and Jacob Ramsey, the report adds.
If Luiz were to depart for pastures new though, they may already be lining up his replacement.
Aston Villa hold Conor Gallagher talks
Now, Villa have been credited with an interest in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher. Gallagher captained Chelsea for large parts of last season and missed just one game as he helped his side secure Europa Conference League football for the upcoming campaign, scoring five goals in the process.
Conor Gallagher’s 23/24 season
Appearances
37
Starts
37
% of available minutes played
94.1%
Assists
7
Key passes per 90
1.49
Yellow Cards
7
Now 24 years old, he has made no secret of his desire to play for Chelsea for much of his career. Mauricio Pochettino was a massive fan of Gallagher, hailing him as “priceless” during the 2023/24 season.
“I think he is a player with a great commitment to the team. He is always trying to compensate in every situation, in offensive and defensive situations. It’s priceless to have a player like him.”
But the Argentine is no longer Chelsea boss, while Gallagher has just one year left to run on his £50,000 per week deal at Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea keen to raise funds his homegrown status counts against him as any money raised from his sale will count as pure profit for financial fair play purposes.
And Villa are primed to take advantage, with the reliable David Ornstein revealing that the Midlands club have held “preliminary talks” over a move, with Emery a “huge admirer” and the Englishman emerging as a “top target” for Villa this summer.
Chelsea value Gallagher at £50m, and Tottenham are also thought to be interested, though moving to Villa may be a more attractive option for Gallagher than Chelsea’s major rivals, who are only in the Europa League.
It remains to be seen whether Villa are able to stump up that sort of fee amid financial fair play concerns of their own, but should they part ways with Luiz, then they may already have found a natural replacement for the Brazilian.
