Exclusive: Unai Emery Turns Attention to Dani Ceballos after Spurs Hijack Conor Gallagher Move

Unai Emery hopes his close relationship with Dani Ceballos can convince the Real Madrid player to be a part of his Aston Villa project, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal. 

Villa have seen their pursuit of Conor Gallagher hijacked by Tottenham Hotspur in recent days. 

It is a hammer blow to Emery, who is desperate to bolster his midfield options this month. 

Emery is aware of Villa’s financial position and the tightrope they are walking in terms of appeasing PSR regulations. 

Villa had proposed a loan deal with an obligation to buy Gallagher from Atletico Madrid. 

But Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who saw their own initial loan offer rebuffed by the Spanish club, restructured their deal to suit Atletico’s demands and secured the former Chelsea midfielder, subject to personal terms, for a fee in the region of £35million. 

Villa’s midfield woes were deepened at the weekend after Boubacar Kamara sustained a knee injury during their FA Cup win over Spurs. 

And Emery has now turned his attention to Real’s Ceballos, who he brought to the Premier League on loan as Arsenal boss back in 2019. 

Villa Money Troubles Hampering Unai

Our sources in the Midlands understand the deal would be structured similarly to the proposed Gallagher move in terms of a loan with an obligation to buy.

Ceballos’s profile is more akin to Kamara than Gallagher, but with Villa waiting on scan results for the 26-year-old Emery is ready to green light a move for the Madrid midfielder.

The Spaniard has made 17 appearances for the La Liga giants so far this term, with the majority of those coming off the bench.

But the question remains over whether he would want to ditch being part of a squad that includes Jude Bellingham to return to England for Villa’s battle for a Champions League spot. 

If Ceballos is a no then it is back to the drawing board for Emery and Villa, whose hands are tied in terms of transfer fees this window.

Villa have also been keeping tabs on Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi from Girona, sending a scout to the AFCON to assess his talents for a potential transfer.