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Negotiations have begun with Chelsea for a €40m Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur target.

Atletico Madrid have opened talks to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, according to a new and reputable report.

The England international has been heavily linked with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur this summer but Atletico appear to have moved ahead in the race.

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Transfer news specialist Fabrizio Romano reports negotiations are underway between Chelsea and Atletico for a package worth around €40 million (£33.7 million) including add-ons. Gallagher is at the top of Atletico’s shortlist and the deal is said to be “getting closer” as the hours go on.

Villa and Tottenham have been patient with their respective pursuits of Gallagher, first waiting for the player to return from his duties at UEFA EURO 2024. Since then, interest seemed to have cooled due to Chelsea’s extortionate £50 million asking price, but the recent figures quoted for Atletico are far more reasonable.

Unai Emery and Ange Postecoglou must now decide if they want to attempt a hijack, either matching or exceeding Atletico’s offer. It appears to be a race against time, so the trigger would need to be pulled sharpishly.

Gallagher only has 12 months left on his current deal and has been considered ‘for sale’ as Chelsea look to gain funds. Any money earned from a move away would be pure profit as far as the Premier League’s regulations are concerned as Gallagher is an academy graduate.

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The 24-year-old, formerly a loanee at Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City, played 92 per cent of the minutes available to him in the Premier League last season. Five goals and seven assists only scratched the surface as Gallagher impressed in an array of midfield roles.

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A Wolves star has made a shock transfer decision while Tottenham Hotspur persist with interest in a winger.

Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Chiquinho has revealed a changed stance regarding his future, displaying a determination to stay and fight for a place under Gary O’Neil.

The 24-year-old spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Famalicao, despite initially joining Stoke City. He notched up five goals and two assists in 27 games last term in the Portuguese top-flight, following a strange stay at Stoke during which he accumulated just 120 minutes.

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Chiquinho, who joined from Estoril Praia in January 2022 for a fee of around £3 million, has made just nine senior appearances for Wolves. It looked as if his time was up at Molineux but his impressive form in Liga Portugal has revived his chances – and now he believes he could break into the Wanderers lineup.

“I want to help the team,” Chiquinho told our sister publication, Express & Star. “This team and the gaffer will help me to improve my football, so if the gaffer wants me here I will be really happy here and to help my teammates.”

A renewed desire to make his Wolves stay a success could prove pivotal as O’Neil approaches a final decision on Chiquinho. Sporting Lisbon are admirers and prepared to spend several million, so an exit could still theoretically be an option.

Tottenham still eyeing £60m Wolves swoop

In other transfer news, Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur remain keen on signing Wolves winger Pedro Neto this summer. Transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano has unveiled the Old Gold’s number seven - available for £60 million - is one of two priority targets as it stands.

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“Tottenham are exploring the market and are exploring several possibilities at the moment. Still, no name is imminent, but there is interest in several players, like Eze at Crystal Palace and Pedro Neto at Wolves, who has many admirers in the Premier League,” Romano told GiveMeSport.

Neto was one of Wolves’ best players in 2023/24, even despite not featuring for much of the campaign. The 24-year-old scored two goals and made an impressive nine assists in 20 Premier League appearances. He particularly impressed in the 4-3 home defeat to Manchester United in February as he netted a goal and took home the man of the match award.

A Wolves star has made a shock transfer decision while Tottenham Hotspur persist with interest in a winger.

Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Chiquinho has revealed a changed stance regarding his future, displaying a determination to stay and fight for a place under Gary O’Neil.

The 24-year-old spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Famalicao, despite initially joining Stoke City. He notched up five goals and two assists in 27 games last term in the Portuguese top-flight, following a strange stay at Stoke during which he accumulated just 120 minutes.

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Chiquinho, who joined from Estoril Praia in January 2022 for a fee of around £3 million, has made just nine senior appearances for Wolves. It looked as if his time was up at Molineux but his impressive form in Liga Portugal has revived his chances – and now he believes he could break into the Wanderers lineup.

“I want to help the team,” Chiquinho told our sister publication, Express & Star. “This team and the gaffer will help me to improve my football, so if the gaffer wants me here I will be really happy here and to help my teammates.”

A renewed desire to make his Wolves stay a success could prove pivotal as O’Neil approaches a final decision on Chiquinho. Sporting Lisbon are admirers and prepared to spend several million, so an exit could still theoretically be an option.

Tottenham still eyeing £60m Wolves swoop

In other transfer news, Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur remain keen on signing Wolves winger Pedro Neto this summer. Transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano has unveiled the Old Gold’s number seven - available for £60 million - is one of two priority targets as it stands.

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“Tottenham are exploring the market and are exploring several possibilities at the moment. Still, no name is imminent, but there is interest in several players, like Eze at Crystal Palace and Pedro Neto at Wolves, who has many admirers in the Premier League,” Romano told GiveMeSport.

Neto was one of Wolves’ best players in 2023/24, even despite not featuring for much of the campaign. The 24-year-old scored two goals and made an impressive nine assists in 20 Premier League appearances. He particularly impressed in the 4-3 home defeat to Manchester United in February as he netted a goal and took home the man of the match award.

Latest Aston Villa transfer news and rumours as they prepare for the new Premier League season

Aston Villa are busy preparing for the start of the new Premier League season. They also have Champions League football to look forward to.

Promising winger Jaden Philogene has recently secured a return to Villa Park from Hull City. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours regarding the club…

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Midfielder latest

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Aston Villa are ‘hoping’ to sell Leander Dendoncker this summer, as detailed in a report by BirminghamLive. They are keen to offload the Belgium international, who has 29 caps under his belt so far in his career, in this window.

Cutting ties with the defensive midfielder would help free up space and funds in their ranks to bring in other reinforcements. At the age of 29, he still has a good few years left to be a useful asset for another team.

Dendoncker moved to his current club in 2022 from rivals Wolves and has since made 36 appearances in all competitions.

He was loaned out to Napoli for the second-half of last term but they decided not to sign him on a permanent basis.

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Winger linked

Aston Villa are reportedly keen on Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski, according to FootballTransfers.

The Sweden international has been a regular for Spurs over recent years but is now being linked with a surprise switch.

He moved to England in 2021 on an initial loan deal from Juventus before it was made permanent.

Kulusevski, who is 24-years-old, has since scored 15 goals in 96 matches.

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He seems to enjoy working under current manager Ange Postecoglou though and said last year: “Postecoglou, excellent manager. He speaks about life stories, not just football.

“It was clear already in pre-season, training sessions under Ange are funny and we work a lot with the ball, we press a lot. But also, we learn from him. We’re really enjoying.”

Aston Villa could see him as someone to add more quality in attacking areas. However, following Philogene’s arrival, it remains to be seen if they need another player in that area, as they continue their preparations for the start of the new season.

Latest Aston Villa transfer news and rumours ahead of the new Premier League season

Aston Villa are busy preparing for the start of the new Premier League season. Unai Emery’s side also have Champions League football to look forward to.

They have the chance to bring in more players over the coming weeks. Here is a look at some of the latest stories coming out of the club…

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Gallagher to Madrid

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Journalist Matt Law has said Aston Villa target Conor Gallagher has been speaking to Atletico Madrid all summer. A switch to Spain now seems a likely move for the midfielder.

Villa have considered a swoop for the England ace in this window but have opted for Amadou Onana from Everton in his position instead.

Law has said on the London Is Blue podcast: “Chelsea & Atletico have been speaking all summer. Samu Omorodion is Chelsea’s top centre forward target. A deal may happen if Chelsea can bring down Atletico’s price for Samu & Gallagher goes to Atletico in a separate deal.”

“Chelsea really like this lad [Samu Omorodion], he ticks a lot of boxes for them. If there could be a deal done there, with [Conor] Gallagher going to the other way, then it’s possible.”

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Gallagher, who is 24-years-old, has risen up through the academy ranks at Chelsea.

He has made 95 appearances for their first-team so far in his career and also had loan spells away from the Blues at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, West Brom and Crystal Palace to boost his development.

The Londoner was part of the England squad at Euro 2024 and helped the Three Lions reach the final.

Spurs retain interest

As per Sky Sports, Tottenham Hotspur retain an interest in Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey. Ange Postecoglou’s side could use Giovani Lo Celso as part of a swap deal in an attempt to lure the player down to London.

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Emery managed Lo Celso at both PSG and Villarreal so he is someone who he knows well already.

Philogene message

Aston Villa have brought back Jaden Philogene from Hull City. The winger has returned to the Midlands after less than 12 months in East Yorkshire.

He has posted this message to the Tigers on Instagram: “I want to thank everyone at Hull City for the past year! A place where i could be comfortable enough to be me myself and show everyone what I can do and this wouldn’t have been possible without all of the support from the players, staff and importantly the fans! I’ll never forget the memories I’ve made at the MKM! I wish Hull City all the best this season and I’m sure they will be at the top again.”

The England youth international scored 12 goals last term for Hull as they narrowly missed out on the play-offs. They have since parted company with manager Liam Rosenior and have replaced him with ex-Hamburg man Tim Walter.

Prior to his move to the MKM Stadium, he played six times for Villa and also had loan spells away at Stoke City and Cardiff City to get some experience.

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Aston Villa could be involved in another swap deal as Tottenham ramp up their interest in a talented midfielder

Tottenham Hotspur remain huge admirers of Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey and are now planning to try and strike a player-plus cash deal for the England U21 international, according to Sky Sports.

Ramsey is a player Tottenham technical director Johan Lange knows very well having worked as Villa's sporting director before joining Spurs. He is understood to have recommended the player to manager Ange Postecoglou, who already hinted at the end of last season that fans can expect to see several changes and new additions during this transfer window.

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Ramsey broke into the Aston Villa team during the 2020/21 campaign and has already made 107 Premier League appearances for the West Midlands outfit, scoring 13 goals and providing nine assists.

The youngster fired in six league goals in both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons and was a catalyst for the team’s upturn in fortunes when Unai Emery first arrived. However, last season during Villa’s best league campaign since 1996 he was reduced to just 16 league appearances during an injury-ridden campaign.

However, Emery still rates Ramsey highly and is desperate to keep him at the club if possible as they prepare for the prospect of a first Champions League campaign since 1983. Football Insider believes that Villa would only be open to discussion about Ramsey if a fee of around £50m was met, but Tottenham are hoping to strike a different type of deal which would see two players move in the opposite direction from North London.

One of those players is expected to be out-of-favour central midfielder Giovani Lo Celso. The 28-year-old midfielder was one of Maurcio Pochettino’s last signings as Spurs boss and he initially arrived on a loan deal from PSG which included an option to buy.

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After an impressive first season a permanent move was given the green light by Jose Mourinho, but due to a combination of injuries and form he has failed to establish himself as a first team player and did have two loan spells at Villarreal before returning to the first team setup at the start of last season.

Despite Ange Postecoglou’s arrival, Lo Celso remained a peripheral figure at Spurs and was limited to just 22 appearances across all competitions, scoring two goals.

However, Lo Celso’s performances for Argentina at the Copa America are a reminder of the talents that the midfielder still possesses. Overall, he has 56 caps for the Whites and Sky Blue and after four appearances in this year’s tournament he is now two games away from winning yet another Copa America title to add to the one he won in 2021.

Lo Celso is five years older than Ramsey and currently under contract until next summer while Ramsey is under contract until 2027. As such, Football Insider understands that a direct swap deal will not be possible and suggest that Tottenham may offer one further player on top of Lo Celso in a bid to satisfy the Villa hierarchy.

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As of yet, that player has not been named, though Sky Sports understands that defenders Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon are not in the club’s long-term plans along with Emerson Royal, Richarlison, Pierre-Emerick Hojberg and Bryan Gil.

Chris Davies’ new-look Birmingham City setup is taking shape.

Birmingham City have confirmed the appointment of Nathan Gardiner as assistant coach in another addition to new manager Chris Davies’ backroom staff.

The 47-year-old, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Charlton Athletic, is the second appointment to Davies’ coaching team. Ex-Aston Villa and Leicester City coach Ben Petty, the new assistant manager, was the first.

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Blues manager Davies, in response to Gardiner’s appointment, said: “Nathan has extensive experience in fitness and conditioning, having worked at the top level of English football for the last 18 years, 14 of which were at Spurs where I worked with him.

“As well as a deep knowledge of loading and periodisation, Nathan is an excellent communicator amongst both players and staff. He is a hardworking and reliable individual, who has made a positive contribution in every club he has been at.”

Gardiner will assist the Performance Department to ensure players achieve optimal fitness and conditioning, whilst working closely with the club’s medical department with a focus on recovery and rehabilitation.

His expertise will also aid in the monitoring of player loading and the planning and delivery of pre-game preparation.