Steven Gerrard isn’t short of central midfielders in the squad with Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Sanson, Carney Chukwuemeka and Tim Iroegbunam, but Luiz and Sanson have uncertain futures while Chukwuemeka and Iroegbunam are still raw talents, so Aston Villa could do with a tried and test option in the engine room.
Gerrard isn’t short on defensive-midfielders with Kamara, Nakamba, Sanson and Iroegbunam available, but he could do with more creativity. Outside of Philippe Coutinho and Emiliano Buendia, Ramsey is the closest thing Villa have to a goal threat and playmaker in the middle, so it’s no wonder the Claret and Blues are interested in Conor Gallagher.
Fabrizio Romano spoke about Villa’s loose pursuit on the Que Golazo Podcast: “Great player, Steven Gerrard loves him. Steven Gerrard really loves him and rates him highly.” Gallagher rose through the youth ranks to the fringes of Chelsea’s first-team, making 53 appearances for the U18s (12 goals, 4 assists), 15 appearances for the U19s (1 goal, 6 assists) and 24 appearances for the U23s (4 goals, 3 assists).
The England international is yet to feature at senior level for Chelsea, however, so he’s been loaned out to continue his development elsewhere – six goals and four assists from 26 appearances at Charlton Athletic (2019/20), seven assists from 21 games at Swansea City (2020), two goals and two assists from 32 games at West Bromwich Albion (2020/21) and eight goals with five assists from 39 games at Crystal Palace (2021/22).
Gallagher finally had a taste of Premier League football in his loan spell at Palace and didn’t disappoint. He had a hand in 11 goals from 34 league games, boasting more tackles (68) than Luiz (59), more interceptions (29) than Ramsey (24) more dribbles (43) than Buendia (40) and more chances created (38) than Ollie Watkins (35), so he’d more than improve the squad.
Gallagher has said that he’s open to another loan move away, but Thomas Tuchel might want to run the rule over him in pre-season before a decision is made. Villa should do everything in their power to convince club and player that he’s safe in their hands. He could thrive under Gerrard.
In other news, Bertrand Traore’s future is in doubt as Aston Villa line up Otavio bid
