Tottenham close in on La Liga star after agreeing terms with Aston Villa target

Last Updated on 12 January 2026

It has been under half a month since the January transfer window opened and Premier League clubs are busy replenishing their resources ahead of the second half of the season.

Since Antoine Semenyo’s blockbuster move to Manchester City, the biggest saga of the window has unfolded at a rapid pace.

After Aston Villa agreed a fee with Atletico Madrid over an England international, Tottenham Hotspur entered the race and seemed to have stolen Villa’s target from under their noses.

Conor Gallagher set for Tottenham medical after saying no to Aston Villa

Unai Emery has been on a shoestring budget during his time at Aston Villa due to financial fairplay restrictions.

However, Villa have been active in the market in January and wanted to make a statement by signing Conor Gallagher. Unfortunately for the Villans, Tottenham decided to firm up their interest, as well, and agreed personal terms with the player.

As a result, New York Times confirmed Gallagher is set to undergo a medical at Tottenham after picking Spurs over Villa. It’s a big blow for Emery, who wanted to bring in Gallagher, after injuries to Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Boubacar Kamara being injury-prone.

But Gallagher has made his decision and should complete his move in the next two days in a package consisting of £35 million.

Can Conor Gallagher solve Thomas Frank’s crisis at Tottenham Hotspur?

Ultimately, the question to be asked is, what does Gallagher bring to Tottenham? He is a hard-working midfielder, who will bring a lot of athleticism and grit to this Spurs side.

But, is that really what Tottenham lack, right now? Probably not. If anything, with a midfield consisting of Joao Palhinha, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, the last thing you need is Gallagher.

Spurs lack creativity and flair and with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Mohamed Kudus out with a long injuries and Xavi Simons not hitting the ground running, they should have invested in a creative outlet.

Either way, Gallagher is not a bad signing, it just feels like an unnecessary one.