Aston Villa stance on Conor Gallagher transfer hijack shared after Chelsea exit update

Aston Villa have closed the door on a potential hijack of Conor Gallagher's transfer to Atletico Madrid, according to Alan Hutton.

The Chelsea midfielder appeared set to join the Spanish giants and end his spell at Stamford Bridge, but the deal has now been thrown into doubt with Gallagher now returning to London [BBC Sport, 14 August]. 

Earlier in the summer, Villa had been linked with the England international with reports suggesting that Unai Emery's side had even submitted a larger offer than Atletico for his signature [Ben Jacobs, 1 August].

Although Hutton admits a late hijack can't be ruled out at this stage of the summer, he doesn't think the Villans will have the financial muscle to match their previous bid having signed Amadou Onana.

"I think if they didn't pay £50million for Onana then possibly," Hutton exclusively told Villa News.

"Now that deal is done, you never know but I feel that door is probably shut now, especially when you look at their midfield.

"I think Onana was their third centre-midfielder possibly that they've brought in so to bring in Gallagher as well, I'm not sure how that would work or how he would fit.

"This is a guy who wants to come in and play regular football and he was outstanding for Chelsea and I'm sure he would feel he could go into the Villa squad and force his way in.

"But whether they have the funds to bring another midfielder in for £30million or £40million-plus, I'm not sure if they're in that moment to go and do that.

"It's a shame for Gallagher because he is an outstanding player so for it to break down, for him to go back to Chelsea and be nowhere, it's not right."

Will Aston Villa and Unai Emery hijack Conor Gallagher's Chelsea exit after transfer update?

As Hutton suggested, it is hard to see where Gallagher would fit into Emery's plans given the arrivals of Onana, Ross Barkley and Enzo Barrenechea already this summer.

Had the England international been signed before Onana made the move from Goodison Park, the deal would have made complete sense for all parties, but now it seems like the wrong fit for everyone involved.

If Gallagher ends up stuck at Stamford Bridge until the January window should his move to Atletico completely fall through, maybe then Emery's Villans could revisit it if a cut-price deal can be struck.

For now, at least, it would be a surprise to see the Chelsea man in claret and blue by the end of August.

In other Aston Villa news, Emery's stance on a move for Joao Felix has been mooted as Chelsea enter transfer negotiations

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