Aston Villa begin contract talks for £87m star

After a disappointing end to last season, Aston Villa have really stepped up this year.

Unai Emery’s side play some of the most entertaining football in the country and are very active in the competition for the Europa League and genuine Premier League titles.

Furthermore, it appears the board intends to do everything possible to help the manager in this month’s transfer window.

In fact, if reports are to be believed, Aston Villa have identified a very attractive target who could be an even better signing than Conor Gallagher.

Aston Villa aim to upgrade Gallagher

It looks like it’s going to be a busy January for Villa, with reports linking Tammy Abraham with Fabrizio Romano confirming that Donyell Malen is heading to AS Roma.

But the most frustrating mini-stories for the Villains are the ones involving Gallagher.

At one point, West Midlanders were said to be very interested in him, but a few days later a move to Tottenham Hotspur was confirmed.

Missing out on a transfer target is never ideal at the moment, but fans need not worry as the club could be moving towards another, better deal.

At least that’s according to recent reports in Spain claiming Aston Villa are interested in Allan.

In fact, the report claims the Villans have already made contact with Palmeiras for the exciting midfielder, as have Napoli and Newcastle United.

However, the main obstacle to the deal being a €100m (about £87m) clause in his contract, which is said to be an “anti-European club” clause.

Now, it seems almost certain that the 21-year-old will eventually leave the Brazilian side, but it will be for a shorter period of time than that. Still, it will almost certainly cost a lot of money.

Still, Villa should do everything they can to bring him to Birmingham. He’s a superstar on the rise and could be a much better deal than Gallagher.

Why Allan is a better deal than Gallagher

The first thing to say is that while it may be a bit risky to sign a player from the Brazilian league, given his performance in the Brazilian league and the level of teams interested in him, Allan definitely looks destined to be a star.

Having said that, there are a number of reasons why he could be a better signing for Villa than Gallagher, the first of which is the fact that he is a bit more attacking.

Indeed, like the Englishman, he can and often does play in central midfield, but he has also shown a real ability to play further up the pitch, both on the flanks and in midfield.

In other words, if Emery wishes, he can mold the youngster into a more attack-minded midfield option while retaining an element of versatility.

The second reason he signs better players is that if you look at their underlying numbers, he’s at the top by a significant margin.

For example, these include metrics such as expected goals and assists without penalties, progressive carries, shots on target, key passes, passes into the penalty area, shots and goal-producing actions, and successful take-ons, all per 90 points.

But it’s not just his attacking stats that shine for the Brazilian, as he also tops the list in tackles, tackles won and clearances per 90.

This shows how complete the Florianópolis-born talent already has the profile and suggests that he has the potential to become a good top-level all-action midfielder.

Finally, at just 21 years old, he became Palmeiras’s “machine”, as coach Abel Ferreira called him., He is four years younger than the former Chelsea ace, meaning that with the right coaching he should become even better and more valuable in the coming seasons.

After all, missing out on Gallagher is far from ideal, but Villa may end up signing the better Allan anyway.