Aston Villa will rival Tottenham in the race to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer as the club look to strengthen their squad ahead of next season’s Champions League campaign.
Villa’s place in Europe’s elite competition was confirmed last week when Spurs lost to Manchester City and after beating the North Londoners to Champions League football, Unai Emery’s side want to oust Spurs again in the race for Gallagher.
Chelsea are reportedly willing to allow Gallagher to leave in the upcoming transfer window as the 24-year-old enters the final 12 months of his deal at Stamford Bridge.
Despite playing a prominent role in the club’s season under Mauricio Pochettino, Gallagher’s contract situation and status as an academy graduate make him an obvious sale as Chelsea look to remain compliant with the Premier League’s financial rules.
Gallagher is valued at around £50m, though The Telegraph are reporting that Villa are prepared to use forward Jhon Duran as part of a potential deal.
Chelsea expressed interest in the Colombia international in January, who has struggled for regular football this season.
Despite scoring five goals in just 373 minutes of league action, Emery is believed to have reservations over Duran despite his high potential and the 20-year-old could be used as a makeweight in a deal, with Villa facing financial restrictions of their own.
