Conor Gallagher: Aston Villa hold talks with Chelsea over move to sign Blues midfielder despite squad resistance

Unai Emery has made Gallagher his top target as he looks to add to his squad ahead of their maiden Champions League campaign. Talks have now been opened with Chelsea about a possible move to Villa Park, according to The Athletic. Gallagher is heading into the final 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge and there has been speculation he could be sold to help ease concerns regarding possible Financial Fair Play breaches.

Gallagher could potentially bring in a lofty fee as an academy graduate, but a sale would not go down well with the Chelsea squad. Team-mates are thought to be unhappy at the prospect of losing the England international who took over the armband at Chelsea last season while Reece James was sidelined through injury.

Gallagher has spoken about his future and the arrival of new manager Enzo Maresca while on international duty. He told Sky Sports: "I've heard really good things and I've seen really good things as well. Myself and everyone at Chelsea are really happy and excited to work with him. We want to get Chelsea back to where they belong, so hopefully, with the new manager, we can start to progress and get to where we belong."

Gallagher's focus will be on England for the next few weeks. The midfielder is in Gareth Southgate's provisional squad for Euro 2024 and looks set to take his place on the plane for the tournament to Germany.