Aston Villa target another former Chelsea star amid Conor Gallagher interest | Football

Aston Villa want to sign another former Chelsea star after entering the race for Conor Gallagher, according to reports.

Unai Emery is keen to bolster his squad in the January transfer window and keep up Villa’s surprise Premier League title challenge.

The Villans are third in the table after 21 games, just six points behind leaders Arsenal, and are expected to go far in the FA Cup and Europa League.

It was recently reported that Villa were exploring the possibility of bringing in Gallagher, also a target for Manchester United, from Atletico Madrid.

The England international is potentially interested in the move but Atletico want £35million for the ex-Chelsea midfielder, which will prove tricky for Villa given their tight financial situation.

But he is not the only former Blue Emery has his eye on, with The Telegraph reporting that the Spanish manager wants to bring in a striker and has his sights set on Tammy Abraham.

Abraham came from the Cobham academy and looked set for a bright future at Chelsea, scoring 30 goals in 82 first-team appearances and winning the Champions League in 2021.

But he was sold to Jose Mourinho’s Roma just a few months later to help fund Romelu Lukaku’s ultimately disastrous transfer back to Stamford Bridge.

The switch to Italy worked well initially, as Abraham scored 27 goals in his debut season and won the UEFA Conference League, but he’s found the back of the net just 10 times for Roma since.

Injuries have played a big part in the decline but he improved on loan at AC Milan last season and is currently enjoying a loan spell at Besiktas, scoring 12 in 24 appearances so far.

The 28-year-old will also have fond memories of a loan spell at Villa Park in 2018/19, where he helped Dean Smith’s side win promotion back to the Premier League.

It is not known whether the 11-cap England international would be interested in returning to the club, where he would primarily serve as cover for Ollie Watkins.

And it remains to be seen whether Villa could even sign Abraham this month as his loan at Besiktas is going well and the deal contains an obligation to buy for £11.2m if certain conditions are met.

Abraham is under contract at Roma until 2027 and his hefty £115,000-a-week wages could also prove a sticking point for Villa.

Chelsea may also retain the option to buy back their academy graduate for £68m – about double what Roma paid over four years ago.

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