Aston Villa were ready to welcome a Premier League star to the club earlier this summer, but the player rejected the move.
The summer transfer window has been full of surprises at Aston Villa, with plenty of movement to report at Bodymoor Heath.
Unai Emery and Monchi got the window off to a flying start as Villa’s PSR concerns had to be addressed, seeing first-team regulars Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby depart.
While the Villans have welcomed seven new faces to B6, it’s been revealed that the club almost added another earlier in the summer.
Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher rejected Aston Villa transfer this summer
Following Luiz’s departure, it was always expected that Monchi and Emery would target the midfield in the market.
Earlier in the window, Conor Gallagher was linked to Aston Villa as his future at Chelsea remains uncertain.
It was believed that the Blues wanted a fee in the region of £50m to allow the England international to leave, a fee that Fabrizio Romano suggested Villa might have met.
The renowned journalist took to X this week to provide an update on Gallagher’s future, referencing his links to Villa.
Romano said, “Chelsea agreed on deal with Aston Villa for Gallagher in June, club-record for Villa… Conor said no.”
Now, the 24-year-old looks set to join LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid, making his snub towards Villa a surprising one.
Unai Emery would have liked Gallagher at Villa
As Gallagher nears the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, it’s clear why the Blues want to offload him, being an academy graduate.
Chelsea are eager to cash in on the midfielder due to the fact he will hand the club pure profit, with his rejection towards Villa being something that might have disappointed his boyhood club.
Emery is known to ‘really like’ Gallagher, as the Englishman impressed greatly at Chelsea last season in the Premier League.
The midfielder has the perfect combination of defensive and attacking ability, making him the ideal profile to have replaced Luiz.
It would be assumed that the manager considered Gallagher to be a strong option to replace the progressive side of Luiz’s game, having contributed to 12 goals in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
Fortunately, the Villans welcomed Amadou Onana to replenish the position although, it’s now been made clear who Emery’s favoured target was.
