Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Who wins in a Gallagher-Duran swap deal?

Tom Weber

• Updated: 12 Jun 2024 11:24 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea and Aston Villa are locked in talks over the futures of Jhon Duran and Conor Gallagher.

The Blues are looking to offload homegrown midfielder Gallagher despite him being one of their standout performers last season. Chelsea need to raise 'pure profit' to allow them to spend big in the summer transfer window.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, though they also have concerns about spending regulations, are keen to bolster their side ahead of their first-ever season in the Champions League since its rebranding in the early 1990s.

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England midfielder Gallagher is a player greatly admired by Unai Emery and talks over a transfer have been taking place. As part of the talks, Chelsea enquired about the availability of striker Jhon Duran, with the west London club keen to add a high-potential, young centre-forward this summer.

Negotiations have accelerated in recent days and while a straight swap deal is highly unlikely, it seems possible that the two players could trade places in the next few weeks.

Villa the winners?

Given the potential magnitude of these transfers, it is interesting to ponder who would get the better deal. Of course, a lot will depend on the financial side of things. Aston Villa are demanding north of €40 million for Duran, while Chelsea are thought to want in excess of €50m for Gallagher.

This, then, makes it seem as though Chelsea would get a better deal as Duran is not only younger but also cheaper. However, one must consider that Duran has yet to consistently prove himself at the Premier League level.

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The former MLS player has not been favoured by Unai Emery and showed himself unable to dislodge the brilliant Ollie Watkins. The 20-year-old certainly has bags of potential, but in Gallagher, Villa would get a Premier League-proven, high-level performer.

Given that Villa will likely need a top-class midfield reinforcement, as Douglas Luiz looks on the verge of joining Juventus, and not a striker, they will probably feel comfortable with making a €10m-€20m loss on this 'swap.'