Why Aston Villa have ‘real belief’ for Conor Gallagher transfer as follow-up plans and chances of disastrous loan cancellation revealed | OneFootball

Aston Villa have ‘a real belief’ that they can land Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid this month, a TEAMtalk expert has confirmed, while the next area they may look to strengthen and the chances of an unsuccessful loan deal being cancelled have been explained.

News broke on Friday afternoon that Villa are aiming to sign former Chelsea midfielder Gallagher, ideally on loan with clauses for a permanent transfer. It would mark a return to the Premier League for the England international, who left Chelsea in 2024 and has since made 77 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side.

TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey confirmed Atletico are open to letting Gallagher go to get more gametime, despite Simeone appreciating him. The pair held talks in December to tee up the 25-year-old’s potential departure.

Now, in the wake of Villa’s concrete move for Gallagher, Bailey and fellow TEAMtalk insider Dean Jones have provided more insight.

“This Conor Gallagher situation’s come not out of nowhere,” Bailey said, speaking on a TEAMtalk Facebook live broadcast on Friday evening. “They were always probably one of the teams that were on the outskirts.

“But it doesn’t surprise me because let’s look at what Villa did last January. Their loan signings of Asensio and Rashford were phenomenal, weren’t they? They really made an impact.

“I was told Villa would do the same. It looks like they might be trying for Gallagher. I think there’s a real chance for this. Villa seem to have a belief that they can get this one done.”

However, as Jones observed, Gallagher’s high wages pose a potential issue.

“My concern would be what I’d heard previously when he was linked to other clubs which was about wages because Conor Gallagher earns more money than most people would expect him to at Atletico Madrid,” Jones replied. “It was a big transfer, it was a big deal when he went there.

“And like with Tottenham, if either of those deals were going to open up, there had to be some wiggle room in terms of the wages they were going to pay.

“I don’t think he’s met all the bonuses so far that would have got him his full paycheck anyway at Atletico Madrid, but it’s still hefty.

“It doesn’t seem like Aston Villa are in the best place in the world financially so I would just have some scepticism about that but I do think it’s the perfect place for him. It’s like Unai Emery’s rehab centre. He likes to bring players in that have got a point to prove.

“Conor Gallagher hasn’t really sunk yet to the level of a Jadon Sancho or Rashford where he was. Maybe he’s more of a Harvey Elliott but I think he would suit this team better than Harvey Elliott.”

However, Bailey asserted that Villa’s PSR situation is looking healthier and that their main sticking point in negotiations will be what would trigger the obligation to buy.

“The Asensio and Rashford deals tell us that they can pay huge wages if they need to,” Bailey said. “Yes, they didn’t take on all of Rashford’s wages, but for those two alone they paid out an awful lot of money in wages.

“They didn’t invest too heavily in the summer. They’re not as bad as they were PSR wise. They do pay a lot on wages but I think they can do this. I think there’s a real belief.

“I think they’re going to try and do an obligation; I imagine Villa would want top four to be the obligation part. I imagine Atletico will want it to be if he plays a dozen games it becomes permanent. I imagine that’s part of the conversation: what is the obligation going to look like?”

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What else are Aston Villa working on?

Midfield might not be the only area Villa reinforce this month, with Jones then shedding light on what other plans are in the pipeline.

“A month or so ago, there was definitely potential for Villa to go and sign another forward,” he said. “It was partly because Ollie Watkins wasn’t scoring goals at the time, but it wasn’t like, ‘we need to replace Ollie Watkins’. It was just to have another figure in that frontline that could actually bring goals.

“When I wrote that story, Villa were potentially getting in the hunt for the title. None of us truly expected for that to happen but Villa are in the hunt for a top-four spot. And I think that has to be considered: have they got enough goal power?

“I don’t think they’ve got the money to go and sign a big striker, but I do think they might be interested in market opportunity.”

Elsewhere for the Villa attack, there are question marks over the future of Leon Bailey, who was sent on loan to Roma in the summer but is barely making an impression with the Serie A side.

Just like a loanee of Villa’s own, Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott, there have been shouts that the deal should be cancelled.

But Bailey clarified what would need to happen for that to be the case for the Jamaica international.

“I know Roma are quite keen to send Leon Bailey back and that won’t be happening,” he insisted. “There’s no clause in there for it to be cancelled and Aston Villa are not anticipating him coming back, so we’re very unlikely to see Leon Bailey back at Aston Villa any time soon.

“The only way Roma will be able to get out of that is, Roma will have to do the groundwork to find another club. If Roma can find someone to take him, because they’re wanting Raspadori, they’re wanting Zirkzee, Bailey really isn’t in their plans going forward under Gasperini so I think Bailey may move but we definitely won’t see him back at Villa Park.”