Yahoo News Brutal Conor Gallagher claim and Jhon Duran twist in double Aston Villa and Chelsea transfer update
Aston Villa have already been busy in the transfer market this summer.
They have signed five new players so far as they prepare for another assault on the Premier League and the fresh challenge of the Champions League. Ross Barkley has returned to the club, after a previous loan from Chelsea, while Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea have both arrived from Juventus.
Lewis Dobbin has moved to Villa Park from Everton and Villa have also landed Ian Maatsen from Chelsea. Douglas Luiz tops the list of exits, with the Brazilian heading to Juventus, and there will be more ins and outs yet to come before deadline day.
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Here, we take a look at the latest transfer gossip swirling around Villa Park:
Duran transfer hijack
West Ham have reportedly entered the race to challenge Chelsea for the signing of Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
Deemed not a major part of manager Unai Emery 's plans for the upcoming campaign, Villa reportedly slapped a £40m price tag on their reserve striker when it emerged that the Blues were interested and in the market for added firepower. Duran has flirted with a switch to Stamford Bridge in the past, and initially looked like a top candidate in their latest search.
However reports last month were left to simmer and eventually fizzled out as it turned out the Colombian was not the only forward Chelsea chiefs were making an enquiry about. In Duran 's case, it was suggested that the asking price for a striker that has scored eight goals in 49 appearances in English football was too high for their liking.
However, any hesitancy could now see them lose out on the transfer to a London rival. It is claimed by talkSPORT that West Ham United are now targeting forwards and have added Villa's No.24 to their list.
Bijol clarity
Aston Villa are not pursuing a transfer for Udinese defender Jaka Bijol, BirminghamLive understands.
A report has emerged this week claiming Villa could return to the Italian market having already taken Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus in a bumper deal that saw Douglas Luiz move in the opposite direction.
The 25-year-old's performances for Slovenia at the European Championships in Germany recently, where he helped his country reach the knockout stages, made him a name to follow.
As did the fact he has played 58 games in the last two seasons at Udinese and that he had recently spoken of his future when he said: "We'll see. In football, things change quickly, you never know what to expect.”
Gallagher ‘gone’
Conor Gallagher is “gone” at Chelsea after they signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
That’s the view of Italian journalist Gabriele Marcotti, who is now convinced the midfielder will leave Stamford Bridge this summer, amid transfer interest from Aston Villa.
Chelsea signed Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City earlier this week, with Blues boss Enzo Maresca raiding his former club for the midfielder who was central to the Foxes’ promotion to the Premier League last season.
Gallagher’s future is in the spotlight this summer as he enters the final year of his contract with Chelsea. He is currently on England duty at Euro 2024 and said ahead of the tournament: "I’ve just been focusing on England and this is the most important thing right now, for me and the country.
"I am a Chelsea player right now and now I am just thinking about England and the tournament."
Villa lead race for €50m ace
Aston Villa are said to be amongst the leading contenders to land the signing of FSV Mainz 05 winger Brajan Gruda this summer.
The 20-year-old, newly linked to Villa by Sport BILD, is currently recuperating over the summer break after missing out on a great opportunity to play with Germany's Euro 2024 squad for the cruellest of reasons. Having represented his country up to Under-21 level, he was brought in by Julian Nagelsmann to train with the senior side but had to pull out due to injury.
Cash twist
Matty Cash looks increasingly unlikely to join AC Milan this summer.
That is the word of Calcio Mercato, who explain that now the Premier League's PSR deadline for 2023/24 has passed and Villa have raised funds from other sales, they will seek to earn their full asking price of €35-40m (£29.6-33.8m) for the Poland international. This is reportedly out of the affordability range for the Italian club.
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