Credit: Imago

Samuel Fabre

Mon 23 March 2026 12:45, UK

Unai Emery will be thankful that Conor Gallagher chose to join Tottenham over Aston Villa.

The English midfielder joined Spurs for a £34million fee in the winter transfer window.

Villa showed a keen interest in Gallagher and even reached a club-to-club agreement with Atletico Madrid for the 25-year-old, but they weren’t willing to pay that fee in January.

After speaking with then-manager Thomas Frank, the 26-year-old had his heart set on Spurs, and he has signed a contract that will last until 2031.

Aston Villa could have done with Gallagher in midfield, but after failing to impress for Tottenham, Emery will be grateful that the club haven’t wasted their money on him.

Aston Villa will be delighted they didn’t spend £34m on Gallagher

Villa are currently fourth in the Premier League table, and with Spurs sat in 17th, Gallagher would have enjoyed a lot more success in B6.

Additionally, the Brummies have had several injuries in midfield, and he would have played more than he currently has at Spurs.

Gallagher has been on the bench for Tottenham’s last two games, which shows how little faith head coach Igor Tudor has in him.

And when the former Atletico Madrid man has started, he has been deployed as a right midfielder, which is a position he has no real experience playing in.

Gallagher is one of Tottenham’s highest-paid players, and the fact that he hasn’t shown any signs of promise in training to warrant being named in the starting lineup is not good enough.

From Villa’s perspective, they were set on bringing him to Villa Park, but they’ll be breathing a sigh of relief that they didn’t splash the cash on the 26-year-old.

The Villans haven’t gotten their recruitment right in the last 12 months, but Emery will be thrilled that they didn’t take a gamble on Gallagher, who wouldn’t even start if all their midfielders were fit.

Aston Villa’s strength in midfield is among Europe’s best

Kamara joined Villa on a free transfer in 2022, and it is clear to see that he is currently the most important midfielder at the club.

The Frenchman has arguably been Aston Villa‘s player of the season, and he ensures that everything clicks from back to front.

He has won 116 ground duels as a holding midfielder, and his season-ending knee injury has harmed Villa’s form.

Amadou Onana’s athleticism has been key for Villa, while Youri Tielemans has the guile to play further forward in the number 10 role.

As the Sofascore graphic above shows, John McGinn’s unorthodox position out wide helps Villa defensively, and all four of them have adapted seamlessly to the tactical changes this season.

While losing out on Gallagher was a blow at the time, it has been proven that it was clearly smarter to bring in Douglas Luiz than sign him for an extortionate fee.