Reports yesterday have hinted that Aston Villa have entered the fray to complete one big signing from Chelsea.
Conor Gallagher is expected to be available for sale at the right price this summer, with him entering his last year of his contract next month.
The England international was an absolutely crucial member of the side under former manager Mauricio Pochettino. No Chelsea player featured more than him.
However, the Argentine has now been replaced by Enzo Maresca, with it unknown at this point what he thinks of the midfielder.
It remains to be seen if Villa’s interest ends in a move for Gallagher, who is still yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.
Gallagher wants to stay at Chelsea
According to BBC Sport, the 24-year-old is still open to staying at Chelsea, even though interest from a side set to play in the Champions League has arrived.
Maresca seems to have a plan ready in place for fellow midfielder Enzo Fernandez for when he arrives at the club. It has been claimed this was a particularly impressive part of his interview process.
With Moises Caicedo also likely to play a big role in next season’s side, there could be a bit of difficulty for Gallagher to break into the side on a regular basis.
Romeo Lavia to play big role next season
This difficulty will be added to when Romeo Lavia finally returns to full fitness, after his first season at Stamford Bridge was a write off.
It has already been claimed the club think he could be perfect for the new manager, who has experience working with him from both of their times at Manchester City.
However, it would certainly seem a strange decision given how important he was last season for the club to sell Gallagher to a direct rival, with arch nemesis Tottenham being another side who have previously been interested in a deal.