Tottenham Hotspur are set to face huge disappointment in their quest to bring Conor Gallagher to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with sources telling TEAMtalk the Atletico Madrid midfielder’s current stance on joining Aston Villa and playing for manager Unai Emery.
With Rodrigo Bentancur out of action for at least three months, Tottenham are aware of the need to press ahead to sign Gallagher and enhance the chances of the 2025/26 campaign being successful under manager Thomas Frank.
However, Aston Villa have been posing a major challenge for Spurs, with our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, reporting on January 9 that the Villans have made a ‘definitive move’ for the former Chelsea midfielder.
On January 12, multiple sources revealed that Villa are in talks with Atletico over a deal for Gallagher, including transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Journalist Ben Jacobs wrote on X at 3:46pm on January 12 that “Aston Villa now in formal talks with Atletico Madrid over a loan with a conditional obligation for Conor Gallagher”, adding that the Spanish club “value” the England international at “around €30m (£25m) with loan fee and wage coverage on top”.
Sources have now told our transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, that Gallagher has said yes to a potential move to Villa.
We understand that talks between Gallagher’s camp and Villa are going on at the moment, with the former Chelsea midfielder keen on a switch to Villa Park.
Villa and Atletico are in talks over a loan deal for Gallagher, with the midfielder open to joining Unai Emery’s side on a permanent basis, too.
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What Tottenham feel about around Gallagher’s Aston Villa stance – sources
Our transfer correspondent, Dean Jones, has reported that Tottenham fear that Gallagher’s preference to join Villa is because of the contrasting positions of the two clubs.
While Tottenham continue to project confidence in their own transfer strategy, there is a sense that issues around vision, leadership and stability are continuing to influence player decisions.
Villa’s ability to get the best from their squad, while also maintaining a push for the top four in the Premier League, is impressive.
Spurs, meanwhile, are currently 14th in the Premier League table, and the atmosphere around the club is negative as fans protest against the ownership and hold concerns about manager Thomas Frank.
Sources have told Dean Jones that Villa are currently seen as the more stable and clearly defined project.
Spurs’ interest in Gallagher is genuine, and we revealed over the weekend that they had re-entered the race in an attempt to challenge Villa.
However, a move to Emery’s side has continued to gather momentum, leaving Tottenham to put on a brave face as they fear they will miss out.
Tottenham have already missed out on Antoine Semenyo this season and suffered other high-profile transfer setbacks in the summer of 2025, including failed pursuits of Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze.
While missing out on Gallagher would not represent disappointment at quite the same level, the north London club would still need to move quickly towards alternative targets.
Sources insist there is significant ambition for this window, and we recently reported that Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton is viewed internally as an ideal profile fit.
Wharton would also be a difficult acquisition, but Spurs would rather persist with top-tier targets than settle for compromise options at this stage of the window.
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Latest Tottenham and Aston Villa transfer news
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have learned the fee needed to sign Andriy Lunin from Real Madrid.
Sources have told us that Tottenham do not want to sell a forward, despite his wish to leave the north London club this month.
Meanwhile, we understand that Aston Villa are planning a shock move to bring back a former striker, but sources have told us that there is interest from Everton.