Tottenham Hotspur to beat Aston Villa to €40m deal for Atletico Madrid midfielder

Atletico Madrid are on the verge of sealing an exit for midfielder Conor Gallagher. The England international has failed to nail down a starting spot in Madrid since arriving for €42m two summers ago, and has been linked with a return to the Premier League for much of the past year.

With Simeone not trusting Gallagher ahead of other options, Atletico opened the door for a move in the summer, and Manchester United made a deadline day bid for him last summer. Being a loan offer though, Atletico were keen to get their money back, and demanded a €40m in a permanent deal.

https://twitter.com/atletiuniverse/status/2010788964102521092?s=20

Aston Villa reach agreement for Gallagher

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa were interested in Gallagher this month as a potential reinforcement, and had made a loan with an obligation to buy for €30m offer, according to reports last week. After holding talks with Gallagher, it appeared that move had the green light from all parties and was due to go through.

Spurs hijack deal with Atletico Madrid

Nevertheless, Tottenham Hotspur have acted on their interest too, and held talks with Gallagher on Monday. Spurs appear to have persuaded Gallagher into a move back to London, and now he is giving priority to a move to join Tottenham. As reported by Fabrizio Romano and Ben Jacobs, they have reached an agreement with Atletico for a €40m permanent deal this month.

Conor Gallagher to Tottenham, here we go! The player has just informed Atléti about his decision to join #THFC.

Spurs set to pay €40m fee, permanent deal to beat Villa.

Aston Villa agreed deal with Atlético today but leave race as player didn’t give final green light. pic.twitter.com/Xm5mreDa9M

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 12, 2026

Barring any further surprise twists, it seems Gallagher will be headed to join Thomas Frank’s side.

Gallagher’s Atletico Madrid career so far

The 25-year-old was also praised highly by Simeone, and did start a number of crucial games, scoring against Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 last season. However he often did so on the flanks of a four-man midfield for Simeone, a role that both player and club would likely admit was not his favoured one. With Simeone not often using three central midfielders, and rarely trusting him in a two, Gallagher has struggled to exhibit his best form.

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