Aston Villa will be eager to bolster their midfield this summer, with one familiar name now linked to a potential move.
Unai Emery and Monchi will work tirelessly to ensure Aston Villa’s squad is equipped appropriately for the Champions League in the summer transfer window.
The Villans secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League by recording a new club-record points tally in the competition, telling of the squad’s progression under the manager.
That being said, there is work to be done this summer to strengthen several areas of the side, with depth an issue during the 2023/24 campaign as Villa endured a nightmare season on the injury front.
Villa’s midfield took a hit after Boubacar Kamara sustained a season-ending ACL rupture, with no player capable of replacing the Frenchman’s role in the side.
The concern about depth in the position could soon be over, as new reports have suggested that Emery could target one of the Premier League’s best-performing midfielders in 2023/24.
Aston Villa interested in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher
As reported by the Independent, Aston Villa are ‘looking at’ making a swoop for Conor Gallagher as Chelsea desperately look to ease their PSR worries.
Being a product of Chelsea’s academy, the Blues are aware that a major sale for the Englishman would result in pure profit, something that Miguel Delaney reports Villa hope to capitalise on.
The issue around securing a deal is that Villa themselves are on the edge of breaching PSR, with Gallagher’s price rumoured back in February to be around the £50m mark.
In his report for the Independent, Delaney adds that despite such concerns, Villa ‘hope’ a deal can be done, in what would be an impressive capture for Emery’s side.
Conor Gallagher interest should worry Douglas Luiz
Lauded as a ‘machine’ by teammate Moises Caicedo, Gallagher was one of the standout performers for Chelsea over the 2023/24 campaign.
The Englishman showed his strengths in the final third by contributing to 12 goals, as well as polishing the other areas of his game in defence and distribution, making him the perfect all-rounder for Villa to target.
This would be a positive signing for Emery’s side however, it could be bad news for Douglas Luiz, who failed to hit his past levels in claret and blue after Kamara’s devastating injury.
With the Frenchman almost guaranteed to walk back into the side when he returns, it could be Luiz who struggles to impose himself ahead of Gallagher in the pecking order, as the 24-year-old showed a stronger approach in midfield than Luiz in the Premier League season, as seen below.
Given Emery’s admiration for the Brazilian, it’s not expected that he will drop out of the starting XI any time soon however, he should certainly be wary if a player like the Chelsea maestro was to climb aboard.
Highlighted by their numbers, the England international showed a higher level of distribution and defending than the Villa star over the 2023/24 campaign, suggesting that his presence could disrupt Luiz’s prominence at the club.
Added to that, there is no confirmation that the 26-year-old will be at Villa next term, with the likes of Arsenal still circulating and Villa being in a sell-to-buy situation due to PSR.
The post Aston Villa now ‘looking at’ signing £50m ‘machine’, and it’s bad news for Douglas Luiz appeared first on Aston Villa News.